


Can't Ask, Don't Need, Won't Acknowledge

by LilRacka



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Domestic Avengers, F/M, Gen, Kid Peter Parker, Kid Wanda Maximoff, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Multi, Parent Natasha Romanov, Parent Steve Rogers, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Steve Rogers, Spanking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2020-09-11 14:16:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 49
Words: 128,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20312335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilRacka/pseuds/LilRacka
Summary: After Ultron- Wanda is left emotionally damaged and hurting. Can Natasha rescue her from herself?Wanda turned entangled to face her saviour, “Natasha... what are you doing here?”Natasha was dressed in a pair of sweats with a tank top. She had clearly been sleeping before finding her. She reached down and pulled the earphones out of her ears, “I think the better question is what are you doing in here? Other than trying to kill yourself.”Wanda blushed at the older woman, “I just couldn’t sleep, thought a workout might help.”Natasha relaxed her grip from the girl now they were both standing steady. She crossed her arms across her chest, “why couldn’t you sleep?”“That’s not your concern Romanoff,” replied Wanda. “Can I have my earphones back now?”Natasha reluctantly handed them back. “This isn’t normal Wanda; I know you are here most nights. You are training too much, and not eating enough.”“I don’t need you checking up on me,” Wanda expressed with slight resentment in her tone.





	1. Alone

Wanda Maximoff could not remember the last time she felt this alone. She guessed it was due partially to the fact she was a twin. Wanda struggled to remember any memory that didn’t have Pietro by her side. She knew moving forwards that would not be the case. Though for some reason she still half expected to watch him saunter through the door and give her his trademark cocky smirk. 

She closed her eyes and laid back down on the bed, sighing audibly. The bed was comfortable everything about the tower was modern and clean. Though it was like a hotel room rather than her home. Her eyes opened immediately staring at the ceiling. She could not close them, closing them meant seeing the scenes that haunted her thoughts. Sokovia was still fresh in her memory, even three months later. Wanda paused in her thoughts, one month since she buried her older brother. He never did let her forget the fact he was 12 minutes older. The funeral was a very sparse occasion; she was really the only one left to truly mourn his loss. Here she was now an orphan with no blood family left in the world. The Avengers all attended but Clint Barton was the only person other than herself to truly shed a tear, but they never really got the chance to know him. She lazily rubbed her temples, wishing she could sleep if only for a few hours. Uninterrupted sleep was a luxury she had forgotten existed. The bags under her eyes evidenced this truth. Her mind would not let her sleep or rest.

Pietro's passing had created what felt like a black sucking void in her chest. That empty feeling that made it difficult to breathe. It always threatened to overwhelm her entirely. Wanda aggressively snapped the rubber band that was sitting flush to her wrist. She hissed slightly at the burn the action created, but after the burn always came that second of relief. For that split second the burn masked the emptiness she felt, but it was always so short-lived. The online forums all suggested rubber bands or holding ice. The idea of holding ice never really appealed to Wanda and Long sleeved shirts already formed part of her casual wardrobe enough to not draw unwarranted attention. Puddles of water seemed somewhat less conspicuous. 

Natasha seemed suspicious of her, and not just because she had commandeered her red jacket. The others all seemed to have happily bought her spiel on her age. She knew better than to reveal the truth. It helped that they wanted to believe it. Wanda told them she was 19 turning 20, which sounded better than the truth she was 15 turning 16. It seemed Natasha was hell bent on catching her out with subtle references to movies and music, trying to get her to slip up. She had taken to avoiding the woman like the plague, which proved difficult with how close she was to Clint. It unfortunately resulted in the side effect of seeing less of Clint. Wanda was isolated, she frequented three places, her bedroom, the gym and the kitchen. She turned over to stare at the clock on her bedside table, it flashed 3am taunting her slightly. She got out of bed and changed into some gym clothes. She took the iPod out of top drawer of the table, a gift from Tony Stark. She grabbed the air pods and placed them in her ears. Wanda slowly crept out of her bedroom down the hallway, she walked past the elevator and starting climbing down the stairs to the gym. 

Wanda found she preferred working out at night, without an audience. She ran on the treadmill and got lost in her own mind. She pressed play on the ipod and let the piano music relax the tension in her body. She kept running, tapping the button to increase the speed every ten seconds getting faster, faster, and faster. Soon she was sprinting as the machine hit the maximum speed. Wanda took a deep breath, as her legs started to ache under the effort. The sweat was pouring down her face, she refused too slow down. She refused to stop. Her legs felt like jelly, she forgot how long she had been running for. The pain and ache was strangely addictive. Her foot slipped and she lost her balance, she went to go flying off the back, when two strong arms caught her, and a foot hit the emergency stop switch. 

Wanda turned entangled to face her saviour, “Natasha... what are you doing here?”

Natasha was dressed in a pair of sweats with a tank top. She had clearly been sleeping before finding her. She reached down and pulled the earphones out of her ears, “I think the better question is what are you doing in here? Other than trying to kill yourself.”

Wanda blushed at the older woman, “I just couldn’t sleep, thought a workout might help.”

Natasha relaxed her grip from the girl now they were both standing steady. She crossed her arms across her chest, “why couldn’t you sleep?”

“That’s not your concern Romanoff,” replied Wanda. “Can I have my earphones back now?”

Natasha reluctantly handed them back. “This isn’t normal Wanda; I know you are here most nights. You are training too much, and not eating enough.”

“I don’t need you checking up on me,” Wanda expressed with slight resentment in her tone. 

“Why have you been avoiding me Wanda?” questioned Natasha, “this is the longest we have spent in a room together in weeks. You are avoiding Barton as well. We are supposed to be training you? Not Sam or Steve.”

Wanda sighed, “It’s 4am Nat, why don’t we talk tomorrow?”

Natasha stood stubbornly in front of the girl, “Fine we can talk tomorrow, but we will talk Wanda. I mean it, don’t think you can dodge me.”

Wanda watched Natasha leave the gym, she frustratingly turned to the punching bag hanging from the ceiling. She applied a firm angry punch into the bag, watching in satisfaction as it swung away from her. 

……………………………………………

“Nat its 5am….” Groaned Clint throwing a pillow at his partner. He attempted to bury himself further into the bed. Natasha had once again let herself into his room. Clint muttered to himself something along the lines of, should have left you in Budapest. 

“I’m aware what time is it Barton,” replied Natasha catching the pillow with one hand, and flinging it back at him.

“it’s also my bedroom!” he replied angrily while catching the pillow that had been aimed back at him, proceeding to throw his head under it in frustration. 

“She was in the gym again,” explained Natasha knowing Clint would not require any other explanation than that. She just to ignore his exclamation about it being his room. 

“You are obsessed Romanoff,” moaned Clint, shoving his head further into his pillow. 

“She’s just a kid.”

Clint turned around in bed, he had realised that Natasha was not going to let him get back to sleep. “I know she is, you know she is, but getting her to admit that is another thing.”

Natasha went and sat down gently on the bed next to Clint, “She’s skipping meals as well.”

Clint sat up in the bed, next to to Nat, making sure the duvet cover was over his lap. They were close but he drew the line at being naked in front of her. “What is it about this girl Nat that’s got you so worked up?”

Natasha leant into her friend and let him wrap his arm around her shoulder. “She reminds me of me….”

Clint didn’t require any more explanation than that, he just presses a kiss to her head. Clint knew Natasha’s biggest secret; she was not the cold unfeeling assassin she made out to be. She was gentle and kind. He saw it best with his kids, when she was “auntie Nat.” There was something about Wanda that made that side of her come out. A desperate urge to care for and nurture that needed to be fulfilled. The red room may have taken away her ability to reproduce but it did not take away her ability to mother. 

“How is you research going?” asked Clint curiously. He was aware of the digging Natasha was currently doing searching for records on the Maximoffs. 

“Surprisingly enough it’s proving difficult to check the records in a war torn country,” deadpanned Natasha. She had exhausted most of her contacts within the KGB and Shield, trying to find out the experiments that were carried out on the twins. 

Clint looked at her thoughtfully, “you ever think about just asking her?”

Natasha snorted in response, “She has already lied about her age….”

Clint cut in quickly, “we don’t know that for sure. She could be nineteen.”

Natasha just laughed at her partner, “If she is nineteen I’m the pope.” 

Clint just smirked at her, “Maybe don’t open with that. You may need to play the long game here Nat, rather than your usual bull in a china shop approach.”

Natasha snuggled in closer to him, “Shut up Barton. You do know I’m a spy.” 

Clint stroked her head, letting her just relax into his touch, “I’m worried we won’t have the time Clint, she is self destructing.”

Clint nods sadly, “I know…” He waited a second before finally asking, “Can you grab me some pants out of the dresser?”

…………………………………………………

Wanda meandered into the kitchen heading straight to the coffee machine. She was exhausted. She had tried to sleep for a few hours after the gym but she had just laid on the bed staring at the ceiling. Eventually she had give up and just got in the shower. Wanda grabbed a pod out of the kitchen drawer and stuck it into the machine and waited the 30 seconds for the Keurig to warm up. She found her fingers lightly drumming on the side while she waited. She heard the door open as Steve wandered into the kitchen, he headed straight for the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, chugging it down quickly, before wiping his sweaty brow.

“Morning Maximoff.”

“Rogers,” Wanda acknowledged back. Steve started to rummage around the kitchen collecting together the ingredients for breakfast. 

“Waffles?” he questioned at the witch. Wanda just shook his head, “I’m having the breakfast of champions.” She gestured towards to the Keurig and then reached down to her pocket and shook the packet of cigarettes at him.

Steve grimaced, “Smoking is bad for you, you know.”

Wanda snorted, “you grew up in the forties everyone smoked.” She started slapping the packet into her hand, packing the cigarettes down to make them smoke tighter. She grabbed her complete coffee from under the machine, and slowly walked out of the glass doors onto the balcony. She shut the door behind her, and opened the packet of cigarettes. She slowly brought it to her mouth, and then lit it with her lighter. She inhaled slowly enjoying the mentholated smoke entering her lungs. Wanda exhaled heavily, and looked out onto the city in the morning. The sun was rising over New York; it was a beautiful view from here. She sipped at her coffee, before taking another pull of the cigarette. 

She heard the door open behind, Wanda turned her head to see Natasha and Clint joining her on the balcony. Natasha scrunched her nose at the girl, “I really wish you wouldn’t smoke.” 

Wanda smirked at the older woman, “I really wish you wouldn’t share your opinion.” 

Natasha narrowed her eyes at the younger girl, “You really are a brat sometimes.”

Wanda broke into a real smile, “You wouldn’t want me any other way.”

Clint rolled his eyes at the pair of them, “You sure you two aren’t related.”

“Well you are old enough to be my mum,” joked Wanda offhand. Natasha pounced like a snake on the throwaway comment. 

“Am I? I’m only 10 years older than you right?”

Wanda paled slightly, “it was just a joke Romanoff, I wasn’t expecting you to start doing the actual math.” 

Natasha narrowed her eyes at the nervous girl, as Wanda took another pull of the cigarette. “So any plans for your birthday, as that’s next week isn’t it?”

Wanda just shook her head, “it’s not important.”

Natasha felt her chest hurt at her words, the first birthday without Pietro was always going to be difficult for the young girl. Clint spoke up, “we could just have a quiet family dinner, with the avengers or with Laura and the kids?”

Wanda continued to shake her head, “it’s fine.”

Her hand shook slightly as she lifted the cigarette to her mouth. Wanda tried to cover it up but failed miserably. Natasha noticed the action immediately, “you ok Wanda?”

“Yeah I’m fine,” said Wanda, she felt shaky, and she could feel her heart beating in her chest. The palpitations were getting worse. She stubbed her cigarette out in the ash tray on the little table. Wanda stood up to get away from the pair of them, as her panic was starting to set in. Her hands were clammy and sweaty. She realised her mistake a second too late. A dizzy spell overtook her, as her body struggled to adapt from sitting to standing. Her knees buckled, her head spun, and the last thing she remembered was Natasha shouting her name.  
……………………………………………………………..

Wanda came to slowly, her head ached. She noticed two different things initially, one was the steady beeping noise of a heart monitor, and the other was that someone was holding her hand. It felt soft and warm. She turned her head weakly and took in the worried expression of Natasha who was sat in the chair next to her bed. 

“how long?” she groaned. 

“Only about 20 minutes,” replied Natasha succinctly. Wanda looked at her other arm and noticed the IV attached, she yanked her hand away from Natasha’s grip and went to pull it out. 

Natasha grabbed her arm instantly, “No Wanda, you need that in.”

Wanda then felt her face and noticed the nasal Cannula as well. “how did they get me this wired up in 20 minutes?”

“You passed out Wanda.”

“It’s probably nothing Nat, must have been overdoing it a bit,” Wanda explained away. She went to sit up, only for Natasha to place a firm hand on her chest and push her gently back into the bed.

“You are going nowhere, until we get your test results back.”

Wanda narrowed her eyes at the older woman, “I think you will find I can do what I want Romanoff.”

Natasha stood up and glared angrily at the girl, “You passed out Wanda, you are not leaving this bed, until we have found out why.”

“I just told you why!”

“I’m sorry did I miss the part where you got a medical degree,” Natasha responded sarcastically. 

‘I know my own body,” replied Wanda as she scratched around the Cannula site on her arm. Natasha slapped her hand in response. “Stop that.”

“It’s uncomfortable,” Wanda whinged. Natasha looked at the girl who looked so small lying in that bed, her face was pale, her eyes and cheeks were sunken. She looked ill and she looked so young and vulnerable. 

“Wanda why don’t you get some sleep. I promise you the second the doctors tell us anything I will wake you.”

“I’m not tired,” she replied bitterly. 

Natasha lifted her hand and started to stroke it through her hair, “You are so tired sweetheart, just close you eyes for a second.”

Wanda grimaced, “Don’t call me sweetheart.” She complained out loud but the term of endearment filled her with warmth. She couldn’t remember the last time someone treated her with such tenderness. As much as she didn’t want it, at the same time she craved it. Her body leaned into the touch Natasha was providing. “Good girl, just relax.”

Part of Wanda wanted to take umbrage at being called good girl, but the other part of her just preened at the praise. She felt her eyes shut eager to hear more praise, as embarrassed as she was by it. 

“That’s it sweetheart,” Natasha’s words started to sound further and further away, until she couldn’t pin point the moment that she fell asleep. 

………………………….

Clint tiptoed into the makeshift hospital room in the tower, “Little one still asleep?”

Natasha nodded at him, “what did the doctor say?” continued Clint.

She sighed one of Tony’s on site medical team had seen to her, “Malnourishment, lack of sleep, exhaustion, any of the above.”

Clint grimaced, “So she’s not eating or sleeping?”

Natasha nodded, “Yes but we both already knew that. Clint we have to step in, I don’t care if she ends up hating me for it, I can’t…. no I won’t watch her waste away in front of us.”

“You know she will fight us the whole time,” Clint replied genuinely. 

“It’s a good thing I never lose a fight then…”

“She won’t fight fair Natasha you sure you can handle that?” questioned Clint honestly. 

Natasha looked up puzzled, “I don’t think she would use her powers against me.”

Clint looked pensively at her, “I don’t mean like that.”

Natasha looked at him curiously, urging him to continue. “She has been in your mind Nat; she knows your weak points……emotionally.”

Natasha nodded in understanding, Wanda had been in her mind, made her relive the graduation ceremony. The moment of her greatest pain, when she was robbed of the one thing she wanted the most. 

Clint continued speaking, “she might lash out Nat, are you going to be able to handle that?”

Natasha nodded looking over to the sleeping girl, “I will.”


	2. Tentative

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments! It really did make my day as cliche as it sounds. I hope you like it.

Wanda came to several hours later, she glanced towards the window and noticed it was dark out. She looked over and saw Clint snoring lightly in the chair next to her. She searched around the room for some kind of time piece to get an idea of what it was. She finally noticed Clint was wearing a watch it flashed 10:19pm.

Wanda reached up to her face and pulled the nasal cannula off her, she felt a strange relief at it being removed. She next turned to her left arm and pulled out the other cannula. Wanda took a deep breath and sat up, she looked around her bed and noticed the sides were up, she quietly tried to remove them. When she realised it was going to be too noisy, she clambered over the edge, gently placing her two feet on the ground. She grabbed the metal edge to steady herself, taking a deep breath. Wanda tiptoed towards the door, she placed her hand gingerly onto the door lock, waiting for it to open for. Friday’s voice responded, “Access denied.”

Wanda in confusion stared at the door panel, “Friday, it’s Wanda, I have clearance.” She whispered, glancing back at the sleeping Clint. 

“Baby witch protocol is in effect,” responded the A.I. 

“What is baby witch protocol??” asked Wanda in shock and slight annoyance at the name. 

“You lack the clearance,” came the short reply. Wanda grunted in slight frustration before making her right hand glow, she waved her hand over the door, and watched it slowly open against the lock. Unfortunately for Wanda the screeching of the door woke up the sleeping Clint.

“Wanda? What are you doing up?” he questioned wiping the sleep from his eyes. 

Wanda glared back at the man, “I’m going to my room.” she looked back at the door and continued pushing the door open. Wanda got it open enough for her to slip through just as Clint stood up, though the hapless girl just walked straight into Natasha who was returning to the room. 

“Wanda, get back in bed,” she ordered sharply, pushing the girl gently back into the room, before turning her attention to Clint.

“I gave you one job Barton, watch Wanda for one hour! You couldn’t even manage that?”

Clint rubbed the back of his head in shame, “Sorry Nat I must have nodded off.” 

“Obviously,” she bit back. Wanda stood frozen in the room, as the two other avengers bickered. Nat turned her attention back to the young girl, “Wanda I told you to get back into bed.”

Wanda snapped out of her stupor, and the order rankled her. “Actually Natasha I am going to go lay down in my own room. Though thank you for the unwarranted concern.”

Natasha just walked over to her in response, she picked the girl up in her arms, one arm under her knees the other around her shoulder, Wanda looked shocked at her easily the woman carried her. “Nat! put me down…”

Natasha didn’t respond to her with words she just deposited her gently into the bed, she simply reattached the Cannulas, and then tucked the duvet around the teenager. 

“Nat!” yelled Wanda in frustration. 

Natasha just cocked an angry eyebrow at her, “you are staying here tonight Wanda, end of discussion.” 

“Not end of discussion!” whinged Wanda back tiredly. Natasha looked at the exhausted girl laying in the bed, before sighing and making an executive decision. She knew Wanda needed a parent, she just wasn’t sure she was up for the job. Natasha was the black widow cold, unfeeling, fearless. She lifted the duvet and climbed into the bed with her, carefully manoeuvring around the cannulas. She laid down next to the young witch, and wrapped her arms around her body pulling her towards her. 

“Nat what are you doing?” questioned Wanda in confusion. 

“Giving you what you need, “replied Nat softly. She stroked Wanda’s hair as the girl relaxed into her arms. She curled into the older woman, resting her head on her chest. Wanda could not remember the last time someone held her like this. She wanted it so much, to be loved, to be cared for, to feel safe. She hadn’t felt safe since Pietro had died. There was no-one left in the world who could love her. That thought permeated through her head constantly. She was surprised that she had leaned into the woman, she really was desperate for physical contact. Natasha’s left hand continued to stroke her hair, while her right hand went under the cover and started patting Wanda’s bottom softly in a comforting way. It was the same way Nat got Clint’s kids off to sleep. Wanda yawned and wrapped her free arm around the woman. She felt like a child for the first time since her parents had died, in that moment she just wanted to pretend that she was loved. Wanda wanted in that moment to believe it even if it was just a fallacy. She should be objecting to the childish coddling. She should be storming away in annoyance but instead the teenager closed her eyes. Natasha laid a kiss to the girl’s forehead but she was already out cold. Clint looked on in bemusement, “So this is how you get my kids to sleep? I was beginning to wonder if you just drugged them…”

Natasha glared at him, “Shut it Barton.”

Clint rooted through his pocket and pulled out his phone, “I need to take a picture of this and send it to Laura.”

Natasha rolled her eyes at him, “Only to Laura, if that pictures appears in any other context you will lose your ability to have any more children.”

Clint looked her in the eyes before deciding the threat was legitimate, and just nodded along. “Do you need me to get you anything?”

Natasha shook her head, “No I’ll be fine now until morning.” She was still running her hand through Wanda’s hair. 

“So how did you get the others to go along with the baby witch protocol?”

Natasha shrugged slightly, “It wasn’t that difficult, Tony agreed straight away, he has locked down the tower for us. Rogers wasn’t sure he will be the weak link in this.”

Clint nodded along, “Wanda really isn’t going to like this….”

Natasha nodded back before looking down at the sleeping girl in her arms, “I don’t really care what she likes as long as she is here safe and healthy.”

Clint looked at her seriously, “You do realise that if you take this on, there is no going back? You will be in it for the long game? She is to fragile to not be committed.”

Natasha took slight umbrage to his comments, but she knew they were coming from the right place, “I know Clint.” 

…………………………………………………………………………….

Wanda squinted through the darkness, feeling slightly confused as to where she was. The first thing she noticed was the warmth she felt from the body next to her, she pushed her hand down onto the mattress in order to lift herself up. She felt a weight pulling her back towards the bed, her head was pulled down into a warm chest. Wanda tried to pull away from the hold. The response she got was a murmuring of “sshh” and some strategic pats to her bottom. She found the motion oddly soothing, and stopped trying to fight the hold and relaxed into the touch. It took Wanda a moment to get her equilibrium in the confusing situation, “Natasha?” she moaned still full of sleep.

“Yes sweetheart, go back to sleep.”

Wanda grunted slightly in response, but couldn’t fight the comfort she felt from the action. She burrowed herself closer to the older woman, but let herself be carried off to sleep. Part of her wanted to fight the comfort, she felt pathetic for wanting it, but in that moment she basked in the affection being freely offered. 

The next time she awoke, she was alone in the bed. The effect made her think she had dreamed the previous night. She sat up in the bed, and noticed the Cannula in her arm was gone, a bandage replaced it, but the nasal one was still in tact. 

Natasha turned in her chair towards the bed, “morning Wanda, how do you feel?” 

Wanda looked slightly awestruck it was the first night she had slept through since Ultron. No nightmares, no panic, no fear.

“I’m good,” she replied slightly dumbstruck. “Did I imagine you sleeping in the bed with me?”

Natasha laughed warmly, “No sweetheart you didn’t.”

Wanda’s chest filled with warmth at the endearment, but she didn’t really know what else to say. Clint entered the room to break up the awkwardness, “I have breakfast.”

He placed the bowl on the small table and the pushed it over the bed, Wanda looked at it with slight disgust, “Thanks Clint but I’m not really hungry.”

“Wanda you aren’t leaving this bed until you have eaten,” replied Natasha in a strict but loving tone.

Wanda glared at the woman, “I think I’m going to leave now, I appreciate your help, but I’m fine now. I think I’m going to go get a coffee and hit the gym.”

“Wanda,” warned Natasha. She took a deep breath to stop her saying anything else in the heat of the moment. Once she was calm she carried on.

“You aren’t looking after yourself Wanda,” explained Natasha with a gentle tone.

“Yes I am,” responded Wanda crossing her arms against her chest in agitation, “I haven’t missed any meeting or training sessions.” 

Natasha shook her head at her, “there is more to looking after yourself than turning up for training. You aren’t sleeping, you aren’t eating,” she emphasised that statement by pointing to the bowl sat in front of the teenager. 

“I am fine; Nat you are being ridiculous.”

The flippant comment angered Natasha, “You are not fine Wanda, you passed out. Imagine if you passed out on a mission??”

“I wouldn’t,” came the simple reply.

“How do you know that??” asked Natasha. She was glaring at the young girl. Why were teenagers so damn annoying? 

“Anyway, you are moving in with me,” stated Natasha.

“I’m what?!”

“You heard me,” replied Natasha. Tony had thankfully been entirely brought in on the plan when she had gone to him the previous night. He clearly carried around a lot of guilt when it came to the young witch. He felt responsible for the death of her parents and the situation in her war torn country. He may not have dropped the bombs himself, but he had profited off it. If helping her in this way helped to abate some of his guilt, it was a win-win as far as he could see. He had moved them into adjoining rooms, and locked Wanda out of the gym. Only Nat and himself could override the lock. 

“Romanoff, have you lost your damn mind?” questioned Wanda in an incredulous voice. 

“No Wanda I have not, for once I am thinking very clearly,” Natasha explained, “Clint and I are not going to watch you self destruct.” 

Wanda rolled her eyes, “you are being melodramatic, I passed out once. I will just slow down a bit guys.”

Natasha nodded, “You are right you will slow down, now eat your breakfast if you ever want to get out of this bed.”

Wanda glared at her, before throwing the spoon at Natasha’s face.  
…………………………………………………………………….

“She is driving me crazy Clint,” moaned Wanda. She was sat on the bed in her new room, she had fought but lost. She still wasn’t sure how that happened. The last few days had been difficult for Wanda adjusting to having the black widow checking up on her constantly. She huffed slightly, “She is overbearing!”

Clint just laughed at her.

“Stop laughing! She has me on a schedule, she has given me a bedtime! I’m not a kid,” Wanda ranted. 

Clint just rolled over on the floor in laughter when he heard the word “Bedtime.”

“Clint…” she whinged, “help me!”

“Do you really think I’m going to go against Natasha Romanoff the Black Widow?” asked Clint, “she terrifies me on a good day, you are stuffed kid...”

“Don’t call me kid! I’m 19.” 

Clint raised his eyebrows at the teenager in disbelief, “we both know that’s not true.” Wanda turned slightly red. He reclined back in the chair by the bed, swinging slightly from side to side. 

“Nat also doesn’t believe you are 19.”

Wanda shook her head, “well it’s a good thing that it doesn’t matter what you both think.”

Clint carried on swinging in his chair, “Nat will find out you know, it may be easier if you come clean now.”

Wanda threw a tennis ball at his head, “I have nothing to come clean about Hawkeye.” Clint caught the tennis ball with his right hand, without losing the rhythm he had creating moving the chair. 

He stopped still in order to give Wanda his full attention. “I’m going to ask you again Wanda how old are you?”

Wanda shuffled nervously on the bed, “Hypothetically would anything change if I wasn’t 19.” 

Clint looked back at the girl surprised she had opened up slightly. He decided to go with honesty, “It might, but not all change is bad Wanda.”

She took in his words with a deep breath to calm herself. Wanda went to say the words but stopped herself before she could. She stood up from the bed, “Do you want coffee?” 

Clint looked a bit disappointed, but he just nodded in response. 

He watched as she made the coffee in the kitchen. Clint couldn’t help but notice that even though it had only been a few days, Wanda looked a lot healthier. She had finally started to sleep again in the last few days, and being made to eat three meals a day was clearly starting to have an impact already. Clint smiled to himself, even if Wanda didn’t want to admit it, being under Natasha’s watchful eye was clearly having a positive effect. Wanda made the coffee and placed the mug in front of him. He lifted the cup and sipped it in satisfaction. “So you going to answer my question?”

Wanda looked at him, “Do you promise to not tell Nat?”

Clint nodded, “I won’t tell her but eventually you will need to tell her.”

Wanda took a slow sip of her black coffee, “She is already incredibly overbearing, she will be horrendous.”

Clint smirked, “so you are not 19 then.”

Wanda rolled her eyes at him, “yeah but you already knew that.”

She may have been being sarcastic, but even saying the words was a slight relief to her. Clint reached across the table and grabbed her free hand the one that was not clutching the coffee cup tightly. 

“I’m 16 next week,” she stated shortly looking away from the older man, she couldn’t bear to see his expression. 

Clint looked slightly dumbstruck, “You are 15….I mean I thought you were young. But you really are a baby.”

“Clint not helping!” moaned Wanda. 

Clint lifted his mug back up and took another slow gulp, “You should really be in school.”

Wanda snorted in response, “yeah right Clint. I haven’t been to school in years, not since Stark blew up my last one.”

“Natasha will insist on it.”

“Well it’s a good thing Natasha doesn’t know,” replied Wanda with a pointed glare at the man. 

Clint held his hands up, “look I promised I wouldn’t tell, but you need to tell her…”

They sat in comfortable silence for the moment, Wanda just enjoyed being around him. 

“Age is just a number,” she continued. Clint snorted slightly, “it is but you my little witch are not even legally an adult. Where you ever legally emancipated?”

Wanda looked at him in confusion, her English was pretty good but the occasional word still caught her out. 

“emancipated?”

“As in you went to the courts and determined you did not need a parent or guardian,” explained Clint gently.

Wanda snorted, “courts?” she responded sardonically, “Stark’s bombs decided I did not need parents.”

Clint didn’t really no what to say to that statement. He just awkwardly looked away. 

“Is that what I need to do here then?” asked Wanda breaking the tension, “because I can do that.”

Clink shook his head, “Natasha wouldn’t let you do that, and neither would I,” stated Clint in a rare showing of sternness with the young witch. He was still a little surprised by her actual age, he had suspected that she was shy of 18. There was a big difference between being 18 and 15. Wanda narrowed her eyes at the man, “You are not in a position to tell me what I can and can’t do.”

Clint just took another thoughtful sip of his coffee, “you are a minor Wanda. In this country you are still a kid.”

“Yes but everyone thinks I’m 19, so that is not a problem is it Clint?” asked Wanda with a dangerous lilt to her voice. 

Clint just watched the young girl, and saw how tense she was, and was just about to respond with an answer, when their space was interrupted.

“Clint, how many times? stop letting her have coffee this late at night!” 

Natasha stalked into the room and slapped the back of his head. Wanda picked up her mug and downed the rest of her coffee, the entire time keeping eye contact with Natasha. 

“Let me?” questioned Wanda in annoyance, “I can have coffee if I want.”

Natasha just ignored the witch. Clint groaned at the assassin, “It’s decaff Nat, why do you always attack first ask questions later??”

Wanda looked confused at the man, “it’s not decaff.”

Clint smirked at her, “yeah it is I swapped them over.”

Wanda crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance at his deception, “I’m not a child!”

Natasha turned her attention back to the young witch, “Come on Wanda it’s bedtime.” 

Wanda shook her head at the woman, “No, I’m done with this. I appreciate all your help Romanoff, but I am ok now. I don’t need you fussing around me.”

“Do we have to have this conversation every night Wanda?” asked Natasha, “can we just skip the argument and you get ready for bed?”

“I don’t need a bedtime,” stated Wanda angrily. 

“Yes you do,” both Nat and Clint said at the same time. 

“I’m not tired,” refuted Wanda. “How can I be tired when you won’t even let me in the gym to train?”

Natasha sighed in frustration at the young girl. Every night this week they have had the same argument. Wanda was the most stubborn teenager she had ever met. 

“Don’t make me count to three,” stated Natasha. Wanda growled before jumping up from her chair sending it clattering to the floor in the kitchen before storming out of the room.

“I can’t believe that counting thing actually works,” said Clint in slight amusement. Natasha shrugged at him, “it works on your kids and you…”

“very funny Natasha,” deadpanned Clint. 

………………………….

Wanda was sat on her bed. She was glancing around the room. it was very different from her other room in the tower. Nat has asked Tony to decorate it slightly, and now there are personal affects adorning the room. There were posters on the back of the door, books in the bookcase. It no longer resembled a hotel room. It looked lived in. It gave Wanda this warm feeling when she was in the room, to know that Natasha cared enough to try and make her feel at home. She recognised the coldness of her old room, but also knew she would not ask for the personal touch. She had got used to not having personal affects. There was no place for materialism during a civil war. 

Natasha walked into the room, “come on Wanda get changed.”

“Romanoff, I’m fine I’m just going to sit up and read a book.”

Nat shook her head at the girl, “No, it’s time to sleep.”

“Why are you doing this Nat?” asked Wanda weakly, her resolve starting to weaken. Natasha noticed Wanda called her Nat which meant she was calming down and becoming more receptive to her. She went and sat down on the bed, “I’m giving you what you need, structure and care. You are a strong Wanda, you are powerful. But you neglect yourself.”

“It was one time, I passed out.”

“One time too many,” replied Natasha, who tapped her playfully on the nose in response. “Now lights out in 15 minutes.”

Wanda rolled her eyes at the older woman, but acquiesced to the request as soon as she left the room. 

…………………………………………………..

Having left Wanda to sleep her next port of call was to talk to Clint. His nose was so far into his coffee cup; she was surprised he didn’t require a snorkel.  
Natasha looked at the guilty expression on her partner’s face across the kitchen table from her, “you know something?” she enquired. 

Clint scratched his head in discomfort, “even if I did it’s not my place to say.”

Natasha narrowed her eyes at him, “Talk Barton.”

He shook his head, “I can’t betray her trust Nat. I’ve told her to tell you, I will step in if she doesn’t in a week. That’s the best I can offer.”

Natasha looked frustratingly at him but on a level she knew he was right. It was important Wanda knew they could be trusted. She had full confidence in Clint’s judgement. Even if it pained her to admit it sometimes. 

Clint stretched out in her chair, “Why don’t you both come with me to the farm for a while, get some proper R&R.”

“That’s actually a good idea for once,” replied Natasha.

“I was due one,” joked Clint. “I promised Laura I would go home, I’ve been neglecting baby duties. I’m sure the kids would love to see Aunty Nat and meet their new cousin,” he finished with a wink. 

Natasha just smirked at him, “cousin Wanda hey?”

“Oh come on you have practically adopted her in all but name,” explained Clint. 

“Shut it Barton,” cut in Natasha. Clint stood up, “I’ll go let Stark know we are leaving in the morning, it will probably work out for the best, means you can stay with us until the new facility is ready upstate.”

Natasha nodded in agreement, “now I have just to convince Wanda to come….”


	3. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the lovely comments, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Wanda woke up with a start in the middle of the night, she brought her hand up to her face and wiped her sweaty brow. She was soaked and drenched in sweat. Wanda took some deep breaths as she tried to stop herself from hyperventilating. She closed her eyes to centre herself, she gripped her hands roughly into the bedspread. Wanda couldn’t even remember what nightmare had woken her up, she just remembered the feeling. That dark feeling in the pit of her stomach that made it hard to breath, it just hurt. Like someone had yanked an important organ from her body. It took her a moment to realise she was crying. She used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears. Wanda was annoyed at herself, why was she crying? She wasn’t in actual pain; her limbs were fine. She wasn’t bruised, she wasn’t broken. Wanda dug her fingernails further into the duvet, as she got increasingly annoyed with herself. Pathetic, she was pathetic. No that wasn’t the right word, pitiful? Deplorable? Feeble? 

The self loathing filled her every essence. She looked down at her hand gripping the bedding and realised her hand was glowing red. She got out of the bed and paced in the room, trying to make herself calm down. Unbeknownst to the young witch, Natasha had set an alarm to be notified if the teenager got out of bed in the middle of the night. 

Natasha groaned as the alarm woke her up, but quickly put on her dressing gown and made her way to the younger girl’s room. She made a rookie mistake by not knocking first.

Wanda in her heightened state sensed the intrusion and threw her arms up in front of her. The red mist shot from her body and Natasha went flying back into the hallway colliding heavily with the wall. 

Wanda looked in shock as she watched the woman go flying backwards, “Nat!”  
She panicked and ran over to the woman, “I’m so sorry, it was an accident! Nat? You ok? Nat?”

Natasha groaned slightly slowly getting to her feet, “I’m ok Wanda.” She grimaced as she straightened herself, she could tell that her back would be bruised by the morning. 

Wanda rushed back into the room. She hurriedly opened her chest of drawers, and started rooting through the draws grabbing some of her old tatty clothes throwing them onto the bed. She then moved on and opened the wardrobe and grabbed a backpack that she tossed on the bed as well.

“Wanda what are you doing?” queried Natasha following her back into the room.

She carried on rushing around the room, “Packing,” was the one-word response. 

Natasha cocked her head curiously at the teenager, “for what exactly?”

“I’m leaving,” came the reply. Natasha looked again at the frazzled and clearly terrified girl. Wanda started sorting haphazardly through her book case, tossing random books onto the bed to join the backpack and the other items she had collected. 

“Why do you think you are leaving?” asked Natasha calmly.

Wanda turned back to her in disbelief, “I just threw you into a wall Nat, I am a liability what if I hurt you again. What if I hurt anyone else?” Her voice was starting to break and choke up as she said the words. By the end of the sentence she sounded so broken, that it even made Natasha want to cry in empathy. 

Natasha approached the girl and stopped her erratic scurrying around the room. “Calm down Wanda, it was just an accident. You clearly had a nightmare and I should have knocked first.”

Wanda shook her head, her face was red and tear-stained. “I hurt you.”

Natasha shrugged, “I have had worse in training with Barton.” Natasha wrapped an arm around Wanda, and pulled her into a hug. Wanda found herself resting her head unconsciously on the older woman’s shoulder. 

“Stop justifying it! Don’t make excuses for me. I’m a monster. I’m just some failed experiment.”

Natasha looked at the young girl sadly, the word monster resonated with her. She knew how that felt, to be a monster. She gripped the girl’s face so she couldn’t look away from her. “Sweetheart, calm down. You are not a monster. Far from it. You are a survivor of monstrous conditions. It means you have overcome monsters, nothing else.”

Natasha surveyed the teenager’s bed now covered with random clothes and books in her sad attempt at an emergency pack. “Come on, you can sleep in my bed with me. We can talk more in the morning.”

Wanda shook her head violently, “No, what if I attack you in the night? It isn’t safe for you.”

Natasha smiled warmly, “It will be fine, I promise.”

Natasha led the exhausted girl into her room, and lifted the covers of her own bed, and beckoned the teenager into the bed. Climbing in after her, “Friday lights off.” The lights switched off in the room. The teenager lay tense in the bed beside her, turning her body away from the older woman and curling up at the edge. 

“Wanda,” said Natasha gently in what was quickly becoming her maternal tone. “come here.”

Wanda shook her head, and just curled up further into the foetal position.

Natasha reached over and pulled the girl into her body and gently ran her fingers through her hair. She grabbed her shoulder and turned the teenager towards hers. Wanda nestled her face into Natasha’s body. She was annoyed with herself for wanting the comfort. On a level she didn’t think she deserved such affection. Especially having just flung Natasha into a wall. Wanda could feel the guilt rising in her body, she went to pull away from the older woman. She could have seriously hurt her. Natasha could almost see the thoughts racing through her head. She started to trace her hand on Wanda’s back. Stroking and running her fingers down her spine, knowing it soothed Lila, Clint’s daughter when she did this. Natasha was grateful in this moment for the guidance Laura had given her other the years. She started to feel the tension leave the teenagers body as she continued her ministrations. Natasha kissed the girl’s forehead in reassurance which just seemed to start Wanda mumbling again, she kept changing language alternatively speaking in English, Russian and her mother tongue, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Natasha just gripped the girl tighter in response, noticing she was exhausted. The stress of the evening was clearly catching up with her. She moved her hand down and started patting her bottom and the tops of her leg lightly. Natasha had learnt in their short time together this was Wanda’s kryptonite. It never seemed to fail to get her to sleep. Natasha assumed it was something on a subconscious level. The desired effect occurred Wanda nuzzled further into her body and was asleep within minutes. Natasha sighed in relief, she was exhausted too, her back ached from the collision with the wall. She reached over to her bedside table, and grabbed out a pain pill quickly popping it into her mouth. She then snuggled down into the bed herself and closed her eyes hoping the pills worked quickly to allow her to get some much needed rest as well. 

…………………………………………….

The following morning Natasha woke up to find Wanda sat cross legged at the end of the bed. Realising she hadn’t been notified Wanda had awoken as she hadn’t set off the sensor alarms. Wanda looked deeply lost in thought, starring at a blank space on the wall. Natasha slowly sat up gingerly, her back was as sore as she had expected it to be. Wanda openly flinched as she watched Natasha in pain.

“Don’t give me that look,” said Nat in a matter of fact way, “I’m fine.”

Wanda shook her head in frustration, “No, you are not, and it’s all my fault.”

Natasha frowned at the younger girl who was now refusing to give her eye contact. “That’s a lot of responsibility to take on Wanda.”

Natasha realised nothing she said was going to change the teenager’s mind. She reached over and grabbed the girl’s hand. “Wanda, what do you want?”

“What do you mean?” asked Wanda in abject confusion. 

“It’s a simple question Wanda, what do you want?”

Wanda still looked puzzled, “I don’t understand what you want me to say.”

Natasha nodded in understanding, “It’s not about what I want you to say, it’s about what you want. If you could have anything in this world what would you want?”

Wanda looked at her sadly, debating whether or not to answer the question honestly, “I would have Pietro back, my parents back, my country would not be at war. We would be living in our little apartment…. But I will never have any of that will I?”

“You are right, you can’t have back what you have lost, but we can move forward together.”  
Natasha took a deep breath, getting ready to broach the subject, “I want to be your family Wanda.”

Wanda looked at her slightly perplexed, “I don’t really understand what you mean.” 

Wanda kept replaying her words in her head. She understood each individual word in English but she was struggling to make sense of what Natasha wanted to convey. 

“I’m not just your teammate or your co-worker. I’m your family. I want to look after you, and you can look after me,” explained Natasha softly again. Her words were starting to affect her as well. It was not easy for the black widow to put herself out in this way. 

Wanda took a moment to absorb the words before finally replying, “why would you want me?”

Natasha felt her chest ache at the words, there was so much emotion behind Wanda’s words. “How could I not want you?” replied Nat, gripping Wanda’s hand tighter. Natasha placed her other hand under Wanda’s chin and gently lifted her head up. She looked directly into Wanda’s eyes as she said her next words, “Do you trust me?”

Wanda searched those eyes for any sign of insincerity, doubt or fallacy. She found herself nodding even before her mouth formed the word “yes”. 

Natasha smiled, “Good, there are times you will disagree with me. But always remember that you trust me and you know I will always do what is best for you.”

Wanda wrenched her head away from Natasha’s gentle hand and continued to stare at the bed spread. “I haven’t been honest with you.”

Natasha nodded in understanding, “I know you haven’t.”

Wanda took a deep breath, as she felt the walls she had surrounded herself with start to crumble. “I’m not 19.”

Natasha snorted in laughter, “I have always known that wasn’t true.” Her reaction helped to lighten some of the tension in the moment. Wanda looked up in slight annoyance, “Hey I was a very convincing 19!”

Natasha just laughed at her some more, “maybe you convinced some of the clueless male avengers…”

Wanda narrowed her eyes playfully at the older woman, “you were always trying to catch me out with your stupid pop culture references and maths.”

“Yeah damn my math skills,” Natasha quipped back with a knowing smirk. She really wanted in this moment to wrap the girl in a hug, but knew she needed to keep her distance to allow her to get all the words out. Natasha waited patiently for Wanda to continue speaking.

Wanda sucked in some air to calm her nerves, she was unconsciously playing with Natasha’s hand. Just feeling the skin, the connection. Natasha didn’t even think she realised she was doing it. 

“So how old are you?” questioned Natasha breaking the silence. Wanda sighed and whispered, “15.”

Natasha’s eyebrows shot up, Wanda continued speaking slightly alarmed at her reaction, “but I’m 16 next week….”

Natasha needed a moment to comprehend the words. They had let two fifteen year olds fight alongside them in Sokovia. She really was a kid, in desperate need of a parent. Wanda took Natasha’s silent pondering negatively. 

“It doesn’t need to change anything,” she stuttered. “I’m sorry I said anything. Pretend I never told you, I’m 19.”

Natasha cut off her rambling, “Things will change Wanda.”

Wanda looked at her brokenly, “Please can I stay with the avengers. Don’t kick me out.”

“What?” asked Natasha in shock.

“Please don’t tell the others. I want to stay. Be an Avenger.”

Natasha glanced at her thoughtfully, “That’s why you lied about your age, you thought no-one would want you. You thought you would be more useful to people as an adult.” 

Natasha couldn’t believe how young the teenager looked in this moment. The fear surrounding her was palpable. Wanda went to stand up, but Natasha’s firm grip on her hand prevented the movement. 

“No-one is kicking you out.”

Wanda exhaled slightly in relief, “So you won’t tell anyone?”

Natasha shook her head at her, “Oh…I’m telling everybody.”

Wanda deflated at those words. “They won’t treat me the same….”

Natasha nodded, “you are right they won’t, they will treat you as we should have been the last few months. You aren’t an adult Wanda. We can help you, train you, and guide you.”

“I thought you were doing that anyway,” stated Wanda referencing her avenger’s training. 

Natasha stood up pulling the girl with her, “Come on, I’m calling an emergency meeting.”

……………………………………………….

The current active Avenger’s roster was sat around the table. Tony Stark for once had been rendered speechless. All eyes were facing Wanda Maximoff as she squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. 

Sam Wilson looked slightly ashen, “Wanda, please tell me I never hit on you, at the after party.”

Wanda rolled her eyes, “You did and it was fine, nothing happened.”

Natasha glared at him furiously, “And nothing will happen.”

Sam threw him arms into the air, “Hey I didn’t know she was jail bait, I thought she was 19.” 

“Nothing changes,” stated Wanda firmly, “It’s just a number.”

Steve looked at her in shock, “Wanda it changes everything, you should have said when they took you. We all thought you were over 18. You aren’t even an adult.”

Wanda bristled at the comment, “I am an adult. I am an Avenger; I am the same person you have known for the last few weeks. The same person you fought with.”

Natasha spoke up again trying to placate her, “Wanda, Things will change. They have to change. Change doesn’t mean bad. It just means different. But you are not an adult Wanda. You need to recognise that fact.”

“I am adult by all social standards,” she said abruptly. “I have had sex,” she glanced at Steve who awkwardly tried to avoid eye contact. She knew that statement would make the 1940’s man uncomfortable. “I have lived alone,” Wanda turned to Clint, who maintained eye contact with her the whole time, she then turned to glare at Natasha, “I look after myself.” 

Tony stark cleared his throat awkwardly, “She needs a guardian.” He addressed the room as if Wanda was not there. To her immense surprise nearly everyone in the room offered. 

Natasha however insisted it be her. Tony agreed to organise the paperwork for them. Natasha then explained to them that they were going to take a few weeks away from the facility to go and stay with Clint. 

Wanda spoke up at that, “No.”

Natasha ignored her and continued making the necessary arrangements and contact details should any avengers related emergency occur. Wanda felt rankled at being ignored, “No,” she repeated. The avengers carried on talking like she wasn’t there. In her anger, she felt her powers activate and the table levitated slightly off the ground before being hammered back towards the ground creating a cacophonous bang that echoed around the room. 

Natasha turned her attention to Wanda, “Wanda… that was unnecessary.”

“I’m not leaving the HQ,” explained Wanda sternly. 

“You are,” replied Nat calmly. 

“You don’t get to tell me what to do, why can’t I stay here with Rogers?”

“Because you are coming with me,” stated Nat. “I am looking after you.”

“What if I don’t want you to look after me?” asked Wanda, “Shouldn’t I get a choice?”

Tony snorted at her, “good luck with that kid.”

Natasha just turned back to the teenager, “Go pack your bag Wanda.”

Wanda felt so confused in the moment, she knew on a level she wanted a parent but at the same time she had been independent for so long. 

“You can’t make me go,” explained Wanda. 

Natasha narrowed her eyes at the teenager, she stood up slowly and stalked over to the where the teenager was slouched in her chair. 

“Listen very carefully Wanda. You have two options here. Option one, you go and pack a bag, and we leave for the farm. Option two, you refuse, you get punished and then you go pack a bag and we leave for the farm.”

Wanda looked at her in total shock, “What do you mean punished??”

“I mean exactly that, you need to learn you are a teenager who needs to do as she is told,” replied Natasha. She glanced at the teenager, who looked clearly overwhelmed by the turn of events. Natasha determined a gentler approach may be required, “listen Wanda, we will talk later about expectations, what you want from me? For the moment please go pack. I promise though that we will sit down and go over everything ok?”

Wanda nodded weakly and left the room. Her head was spinning in the blink of an eye everything had changed. For the last 5 years it had been her and Pietro against the world, just thinking about him made her chest hurt. She wished he was here right now. How things would be different if he hadn’t been killed by Ultron. Killed by Tony Stark’s creation. The creation she helped facilitate with her powers. She drove Tony to create Ulton ergo she had was directly responsible for his death. It was amazing to her how quickly her brain made those connections. The guilt was growing in her body, it made her heart beat faster, her hands sweat, and the panic set in. She closed her bedroom door, and went straight to her bedside table searching for her aid. She removed the elastic band she kept secured to the bottom of her hairbrush and pulled it onto her wrist. She snapped it back harshly, and flinched at the sound it made when it connected with her wrist. The burn started immediately and she took a deep breath as she felt her heart rate slow in her chest. She snapped the band back again, the burn grew again, but the palpitations were ceasing. She lifted it back up and held it hire over her wrist. Wanda closed her eyes so she could not see when it was going to strike and by pulling it at different lengths from her body she could not anticipate the exact moment it would strike her skin. She only stopped when the band snapped, no longer fit for purpose. Wanda opened her eyes and glanced down at the wrist, she was not surprised to see blood, and the mottled bruising and swelling. She took another deep breath as she felt the relief wash over her. She was back in control; she knew it was not healthy but it wasn’t like she was cutting or anything. She was looking after herself, I mean she had even googled this as an alternative. As far as Wanda was concerned this proved she was an adult capable of looking after herself. 

She grabbed her rucksack that was still on her bed from her attempted mad pack the previous night, and started to fill it with clothes. She opened a few drawers, and then happened upon a nirvana sweatband. Wanda pulled it over her sore wrist and was happy to see it covered it perfectly while also suiting her style. It didn’t look out of place just part of the overall ensemble. She hadn’t even bothered to wipe the droplets of blood off first, she knew the band would absorb the small amount of blood that was showing. 

……………………………………………….

Once Wanda had left the room, the remaining avengers turned to Natasha in concern. 

Tony was the first to speak up, “call us if you need anything? I know I’m usually only good for sarcasm, but I do also have money. Lots of money.”

Nat just smirked at him, ‘I am aware Tony.” 

“We will be fine; I think she needs some time to not be an avenger. She has been fighting constantly for the last 5 years she needs a break and some perspective.”

Clint laughed out loud, “The Pot calling the kettle Black there, Romanoff.”

“Shut it Barton,” snapped Natasha.

Steve spoke up, “You know she isn’t going to want to give up any control. She’s an independent little hurricane.”

‘I do have power inhibitors I have been working on, they are bracelets. They neutralise part of powers we have been testing them on vision,” stated Tony. 

Natasha shook her head, “Definitely not. I want her to trust me, she won’t if I have to threaten to make her powerless.”

Tony just rolled his eyes, “Spoken like someone who has never been a parent. Good luck and god speed Romanoff. Teenagers are like their own breed. Good luck grounding one who can move things with her mind.”

“Sometimes Mutual respect can work,” said Natasha in annoyance. Tony looked around the room, “place your bets now guys, how long until Romanoff gives in and realises teenagers and respect are not mutually exclusive.”

“Fuck off Tony,” muttered Natasha. Steve couldn’t help but respond by automatically saying, “Language.”


	4. Status Quo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to update today, but thank you MarvelObsessedgirl3 for commenting on every chapter!

Natasha knocked on the younger girl’s door waiting for an answer before entering the room. Once she heard the muffled “come in” she slowly reached for the door handle and cautiously opened the door.

“You all packed?”

Wanda nodded back at the woman, looking up from her position of laying on the bed. She had her nose in a book. Tony had acquired a few classics of American literature for her, reading them was helping with her English skills as well as general understanding of American culture. She gently put the book down folding down the corner of the page she was on to hold her place. Most people would be deeply upset by her habit, but she found it made the books hers. 

“How are you feeling?” asked Natasha softly.

Wanda looked up at the woman, “I don’t know, overwhelmed I guess.”

Natasha cocked her head slightly at the teenager, “that is to be expected Wanda.”

Wanda continued to look at her, “have you ever felt so completely out of control of a situation? Like you are just drowning in the sea and you are reliant on someone to save you?”

“I understand that more than you know. Clint and Laura saved me from drowning, and I’ll save you.”

Wanda nodded in understanding, “You could just let me drown…”

Natasha shook her head, “that will never happen.”

Wanda stood up, picking her book up with her and placed it carefully into her rucksack. “So what changes are there?”

Natasha smiled weakly, “why don’t we get on the jet? We can discuss it all on there.”

………………………………………………………..

Wanda was sat securely on the jet, having said goodbye to the rest of the team. She had promised Pepper to text her when she landed. Steve had asked for weekly updates at the least. Stark just gave her an awkward fist bump. Wanda didn’t feel particularly close to him, if anything she still felt some resentment to his role in the destruction and dismantling of her life. So she was happy with the limited contact. 

Once they had clear blue skies ahead of them Natasha beckoned for their talk. 

“This doesn’t need to be awkward Wanda…”

“It is a little bit,” replied Wanda, “Is this the part where you tell me I have to eat all my vegetables?”

Natasha recognised what Wanda was trying to do, make a joke to try and deflect from the tension she was feeling. 

“Not quite,” smiled Nat reassuringly. “but not a million miles away.”

“I don’t see why anything has to change?” asked Wanda, “can’t we just continue with you and Steve training me to be an avenger?”

“That will continue,” said Nat hoping that would placate the teenager somewhat, “but you won’t be going on any missions for a while.”

“What?! But my powers? I can help people!”

“You will help people Wanda, when you are an adult. So we will train you for the next 2 years, vocationally and academically.”

Wanda looked at her in bemusement, “Academically??”

“Yes,” replied Natasha.

“You mean like school lessons?” asked Wanda in disdain. 

“Eventually yes, we just need to judge your level. Tony has arranged some online courses and we will start with some home schooling and then potentially you could go to a real high school.”

“That’s not happening,” stated Wanda in anger. 

“We actually have a legal obligation to educate you Wanda.”

“No one had that obligation at Hydra or when I was orphaned at 10,” she cut back bitterly. 

“Well we do,” answered Natasha, not wanting to open up that can of worms at the moment. She just wanted to focus on having this discussion. Wanda was quietly seething at this change of situation. 

“Anything else you want to change? Do I have curfew now? Will I get grounded if I misbehave?” Her voice was dripping in sarcasm and agitation.

“I am going to be your legal guardian, so you will have to listen to me to an extent. There will be rules I expect you to follow.”

“Such as…?” asked Wanda.

Natasha narrowed her eyes at the sardonic teenager, “keep safe, listen to adults, do not put yourself in danger. Nothing overly restrictive Wanda.”

Wanda unstiffened slightly at her words, as she realised Nat wasn’t going to just demand her complete submission. This was still same Natasha she had grown to know over the last few weeks. 

Natasha continued speaking, “our relationship will alter slightly Wanda, it has to. You are focusing on the negative at the moment but there are positive sides too.”

She nodded in understanding, “It may take me a while to get used to all this.”

“I can learn to be patient for you.”

Clint snorted from the cockpit of the plane, “Wish you had tried that for me.”

“Shut it Barton.”

Wanda giggled slightly at the exchange, yes they were the same black widow and Hawkeye. 

Natasha smiled warmly when she heard the laughter erupting from the teenager, before realising she needed to wrap up this conversation. 

“There is one other thing Wanda we need to discuss what will happen if you break the rules.”

Wanda looked at her in confusion before shrugging. “I guess we just talk about it?”

Natasha shook her head, “No you will have consequences.”

“So like three strikes I’m out system?” Wanda recalled reading something about American justice working in that way. “So three rule breaks I’m on my own? I have to leave the avengers?”

“Not a chance,” replied Natasha, she knew Wanda needed the reassurance desperately right now that she wasn’t going to be tossed aside. 

“No, consequences can be anything from writing lines, to being grounded, to having extra chores to do.”

“That all seems so juvenile,” argued Wanda.

Natasha took a deep breath, “I am also relatively old school Wanda, so if you put yourself in danger, or lie to me again. There will only be one consequence for that….”

Wanda looked at her in confusion, “what does old school mean?” Again she knew what the two words meant but she wasn’t sure what was different from an old school or a new school. Natasha realised the colloquialism was lost on Wanda completely. 

“It means I believe in corporal punishment,” explained Natasha briefly. Wanda looked at her for a second before realisation dawned on her, “you can’t be serious Nat??”

“Deadly serious.”

Wanda paled, and felt the blood leave her face, she knew all about whips and canes. Hydra liked to use them in abundance. Any slight infraction she had felt the bite of the whip on her shoulder she still had the scars. “Wanda you ok?” asked Natasha worriedly. Clint turned the auto-pilot on and walked towards the pair of them, “Nat stop scaring the kid.”

He turned his attention to Wanda, “she means if you misbehave she will spank you. She doesn’t mean she is going to go all medieval on your ass.”

Wanda started blushing when she heard Clint’s blunt words. “that won’t be necessary,” Wanda stated awkwardly. 

“Easy solution, don’t lie or put yourself in danger then it definitely won’t be necessary,” alliterated Natasha.

Wanda pondered on those words, as the conversation naturally progressed to a less severe topic. 

The Quinjet landed in the trees near the farm house. Clint left the ship first, greeting his wife who was already waiting by the steps for their arrival, baby Nathanial bundled in her arms. Laura placed the baby into her husband’s arms, before turning to greet the others, she pulled Natasha into a hug. She glanced into the jet and saw Wanda standing their awkwardly. 

“You coming down here?”

Wanda shrugged before slowly walking towards the woman, “it’s nice to meet you Wanda, I would love you to meet Nathanial Pietro Barton.” 

Her breath stuck in her throat, “Pietro...”

Clint spoke up tilting the baby towards her, “he’s named after his favourite aunty and the boy who saved his father’s life.” Wanda just stood silently for the moment clearly wrapped up in the emotion of thinking about her brother. Nat wrapped her arm around her shoulders and pulled her into her body. Wanda responded by turning and resting her head on her chest, the moment was broken by the other two Barton kids rampaging over. 

“Come on, “replied Laura, “dinner is waiting for us.”

…………………..

Later that evening they were all sat around the living room, the wine was flowing for the adults. Clint glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall above the fireplace. “it’s getting late kiddies, off to bed with you…”

The kids groaned, but said their goodnights without much further prompting. Wanda reclined in her seat further. She was clearly tired her head resting on the side of the sofa. Clint nodded at Natasha knowingly. “how are you feeling Wanda?”

“I’m good,” she replied tightly. 

“Why don’t you go get some asleep, we will tidy up before heading to sleep ourselves.”

Wanda nodded weakly, and stood up, she slowly walked over and kissed Nat on the cheek, “good night.”  
“she seems a handful…” stated Laura taking a sip of her glass of red wine. Natasha snorted slightly in response, “that’s one way of putting it…”

Laura laughed at the woman, “giving you a run for your money then Nat?” 

Natasha felt her cheeks blush at Laura’s comment, “stop that, are you ever going to let me live that down?”

Clint smirked over to the two women. “We have clearly had some influence on you, as you seem to have inherited our love for picking up strays…”

Natasha glared at him, “did you just refer to me as a stray??!”

Laura rested her hand on Natasha’s knee, “calm down Nat, you know how he gets.” Natasha felt the stress leave her body as Laura rubbed her knee. Sometimes sitting next to Laura made her feel 17 again. Remembering when she had first entered the farm house with Clint. They were her saviours, not just her best friends. Nat knew she was lost when she first met them, and she always hated the fact she felt so indebted to them. One for Clint sparing her life, and two for then taking her in, Clint always said they were square, especially after the New York incident when he had been under Loki’s control. She always felt the scale was never in her favour. 

“How are you really doing though Nat?” Laura’s voice interrupted her rambling thoughts. 

“I’m fine Laura,”

Laura shook her head and glanced knowingly at her husband, “I saw you after Sokovia, I know Wanda didn’t know what she what was doing, but she hurt you… I saw how affected you were…”

“That’s the past…” Natasha answered abruptly clearing wanting a subject change. 

‘“Nat, you don’t need to deflect from us.” Laura hugged the woman into her body. “talk to us…”

Natasha felt the tear dripping down her cheek before she even realised she was crying. Clint stood up and sat on the other side of the sofa sandwiching Natasha between them. “We are here Nat.”

"Have you heard from Banner?"

Nat sighed, "nothing, he clearly does not want to be found."

"He will come around Tash. He finally thought he had control and then Ultron happened." Clint chose his words carefully the whole room knew he meant Wanda happened. 

None of the occupants of the room had noticed Wanda in the doorway or the fact she had heard every word. She had realised belatedly that she had not said good night to the hosts. Wanda turned around abruptly and headed to her bedroom. She really did hurt everyone around her, she honestly struggled to understand why anyone would want her around when all she caused was misery. She entered her bedroom and quickly packed a small bag with essentials. She dropped the mobile phone that Natasha had given her onto the bed, before opening the window, and leaping out into the night. 

Natasha changed the topic back abruptly, lingering thoughts of Bruce where still painful for her. “Honestly guys I’m fine, it’s never nice to have my past dragged up in that way. But I’m a big girl I can handle it.”

Laura smiled at her old friend, “we know you can, but we are just letting you know that we are here for you.” 

“I know…” replied Nat simply.

“I know right how did you get so lucky, “quipped Clint with his smirk. Nat lightly slapped him on his arm, “shut up egotist.”

“How is Wanda honestly?” asked Laura gently. Natasha sighed heavily and sipped at the wine in her glass, “Her guilt is destroying her, no matter how many times I tell her she has no reason to feel guilty. It’s like she is walking around with a 50lb weight on her shoulders, and nothing I do can help her carry it.”

“Guilt can be very self-destructive Nat. If talking to her isn’t working, maybe you need to try something else.” replied Laura. Clint nodded along, “you know my feelings, you need to be stricter with her, stop treating her like she will break. It worked for you.”

Nat shook her head, “what if I make it worse? How did you even know it would work?” 

"She needs to purge her guilt, just like you did,” stated Laura, “Grief is a powerful thing Tasha. You may need to pull her out before she spirals. She is a teenager. Boundaries could honestly be what she needs. Don’t let your affection for her compromise what you know is right." 

Natasha shuddered at the word “compromise.” She awkwardly glanced at the clock, “it really is getting late, I think we should call it a night.” 

She went to pick her wine glass up and take it the kitchen, “leave it Nat we can tidy in the morning, you are right it’s getting late.” 

She gave them both a hug before heading to her bed, she passed the door to Wanda’s room, but saw the door was shut so walked past.   
……………………………………………………………….

Wanda was tired, she was surprised she had been able to travel for as long as she had, especially when she had no actual place to go to. It was always harder to stay motivated when there was no end goal. She slumped against a nearby tree, her exhaustion finally getting the best of her. She would just rest her eyes for a few hours before continuing her journey. When she woke up to daybreak, she didn’t feel much more refreshed, she stretched out, moving her neck awkwardly from side to side. She grabbed her bag-pack up that had substituted as a pillow for the last few hours, her stomach rumbled slightly in hunger. She really didn’t think this through. Maybe she really was an idiot teenager. 

Natasha woke up with an ominous feeling in her stomach that she couldn’t shake. She tiredly entered the kitchen amused to see Laura already awake with a coffee. “Do you ever sleep?”

“I have 2 kids and a baby…I think you know the answer to that.”

Natasha laughed out loud at that. “fair point Laura.” 

“You get to skip that bit with Wanda, typical teenager,” retorted Laura, “like to sleep in does she?”

“Not usually,” responded Nat with a slight concern in her tone. Clint smirked from the table, “it’s ok I’ll go wake up sleeping beauty.”

Natasha tried to placate her nerves, but that was shattered when Clint came rushing back in, “she’s not here, and her bed doesn’t look slept in...”

Wanda had finally found a town, there was seedy diner that had a bell that rang as she walked in. She looked in her bag, and pulled out a couple of dollars. She mentally slapped herself. What idiot leaves with no money. She glanced at the women behind the counter, “black coffee please." She handed the money to the lady before waving her fingers at the woman. She watched her eyes flash red. "Can I have my change please?"  
The stunned woman handed all the money back to Wanda and poured her a mug of coffee. Wanda sat feeling slightly guilty for her deception, but she knew she needed to make this money last. 

"Can I smoke in here?" The woman brought over an ashtray and set it down next to the mug.

"I don't recognise your accent kid. Where you from?" 

"Not a kid and none of your business," the woman stepped back gingerly clearly deciding to forgo the attempts at conversation. The positive of small town America is that there was always someone trying to hide or someone trying to escape, it also meant people were content to let things go.


	5. Understanding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the lovely comments, they really do inspire me to write!

Natasha couldn’t breathe, they had searched the entire farm, the teenager was no-where to be seen. Clint was frantically phoning around the area in hope that someone had seen her. Laura was resting her hand on Natasha trying to calm her, “she can’t have gone far Nat, we will find her.”

Nat looked at her harshly, “she is still wanted by Hydra! How can she be so reckless? We can’t even call the police to find her.”

“I’ve got a lead,” stated Clint rushing towards them pocketing his cell phone in his Jeans, “nearby town, a young girl has turned up out of the blue, not a local.”

“That’s a lead?!” snapped Nat. Laura pulled the irate woman into her, “it is around here, this is a local community, we are not in New York anymore.” 

Clint pulled his coat on, “I’m going to go check it out, you guys wait here, in case she returns.”

Wanda sat in the diner trying to determine her next move. She was an idiot. An irrational emotional idiot. She took a deep calming breath to centre herself. Wanda had not thought this through. She had no Id, no money and left in a rush with no plan. Maybe she was a stupid teenager. She had no one to call, no-one could help her. Wanda played with the packet of sugar she had liberated from the cup on the table. She moved the packet between her fingers industriously, it provided a welcome distraction from her thoughts. The packet dropped to the table when it reached the end of her hand. Her hands shook slightly in stress. Wanda reached out to the cigarette packet on the table, and pulled one out of the carton. She lifted it to her lips and lit it with the lighter off the table. She took a slow pull on the lit stick. The smoke calmed her down. So this was the plan, chain smoking and drinking coffee, she thought to herself sadly. 

Clint entered what he thought must have been the 10th different diner in this town, he wasn’t sure why the town had so many, surely the population of the town was not high enough to keep them all in business. 

Clint glanced towards the diner bar spotting the young witch through the plume of smoke coming from her direction. Wanda turned at the sound of the bell going off as he strode into the building, “Clint…” she whimpered. 

Clint stared at the girl, “do you want to explain to me what in the world possessed you to leave in the middle of the night like that?! Natasha is in pieces.”

Wanda cringed at his words, “I’m doing what is best for you all…Nat is better off without me.” She stubbed her cigarette in the ask tray, as if to punctuate her point. 

“How can you possibly think that?” questioned Clint, taking a seat next to the girl, signalling the waitress for a drink. 

“I am just a living reminder of her pain, What I did to her? What Ulton and I did to her…”

Clint realised in that statement what caused the young girl to run, “you were eavesdropping last night.”

Wanda took umbrage to that, “I was not eavesdropping….” she replied indignantly. 

Clint raised his eyebrows at the teenager, “you need to come home and talk to Nat…”

Wanda shook her head slowly, “I don’t have a home.”

“Yes you do, and you have a family that loves you. That wants to care for you, chastise you and I guarantee after this stunt… punish you.” Wanda went slightly red at that, “now come on let’s go home.”

Wanda just shook her head again. She turned her attention back to her now empty coffee cup, "I am fine here."

"Nat is your legal guardian Wanda, unfortunately you are a minor. You have to abide by her rules," explained Clint. 

"Then maybe I should go back to Sokovia," Wanda replied snottily. 

Clint sighed in exasperation running his fingers through his hair. He was realising logical threats would not work on the emotional teen. "How are you not blood related to Nat,” he voiced out loud, “you are two of the most stubborn people I have ever met."

Wanda smiled at that even when she didn't want to, "you think we are alike?" 

"So alike...look Wanda what do you honestly have to lose by coming home with me?"

"My independence," she replied immediately. “My Sanity,” she weakly joked as an afterthought. 

"That ship has sailed how many 15 year olds do you know with full autonomy?"

"I'm different."

"Said every teenager ever," sparked back Clint. "You want to be treated like an adult act like one. Come home and talk to Nat."

Wanda turned to look at the man, before nodding in agreement, “Ok.” She threw the money she owed onto the table before standing up and following Hawkeye out of the diner. 

…………………………………..

The second Wanda walked through the door she was pulled sharply into a hug, she felt her head being held tightly against the older woman’s chest. She was confused when she felt the top of her head getting slightly damp, before she realised it was Natasha’s tears she was feeling. Clint beckoned to the rest of the inhabitants, “come on, I will treat everyone to a day out.” The rest of the Barton family left the house, leaving just the two women. Natasha pulled the younger girl away from her body, her relief at seeing her now being replaced by anger. “What in the world were you thinking???! Running off like that!”

“I was doing what was best for you….” Wanda trailed off. 

Natasha shook her head, “No you were running away, you can’t run away.”

“I hurt you…” exclaimed Wanda angrily, “I hurt you in Sokovia.”

“You heard us talking last night….” Stated Nat.

“Yes I did, I know you must hate me,” was the sad response from Wanda. 

“Of course I don’t Wanda. I don’t blame you for any of it.” 

“Maybe you should! No-one made me do it, I acted on my own free will. I chose to hurt you and Bruce. It's my fault he left.”

Nat smiled sadly at the younger girl her rage had started to drain away, “oh Wanda, how guilty have you been feeling about all of this? Why have you not spoken to me before now?”

“And say what…. Sorry for fucking with your mind and making you boyfriend run off... can we all be family now?”

“Steve would not be impressed with that language…” joked Nat trying to dissipate some of the tension, “do you really think I would have applied to be your guardian If I held a grudge?”

Wanda glanced at the older woman, “Yes… No… Maybe…..Bruce did say he wanted to choke the life out of me.”

“He shouldn’t have said that. He was just angry about what happened.”

“It seemed like he meant it when he had his arms wrapped around my neck,” Wanda replied back sardonically. “what’s going to happen if he does come back? And he doesn’t want to be around me?”

“I signed up for life Wanda. You are mine now. You have this whole weird family; it’s not blood family. It’s better than that we are all family by choice. You have so many weird uncles now who would do anything for you. You already have Cap, Clint and Tony wrapped around your little finger.”

Wanda laughed slightly at that, and Natasha used the opportunity to pull the girl back into her body. Wanda rested her head on her shoulder, and Nat just ran her fingers through Wanda’s hair in a soothing motion. 

“You must talk to us Wanda, if you are feeling unsure talk to us. But I can’t have you running off again, I am being serious, you are not to ever leave without getting permission from an adult.”

Wanda pulled her head away from the comforting shoulder and huffed at that comment, “I don’t need permission.”

“That’s where you are wrong, you may not be an actual child. However, you are now my child,” realised Nat. 

“I am an adult!” shouted Wanda aggressively. 

“What part of running away in the middle of the night was adult? An adult would have spoke to us, not left in the middle of the night!”

Wanda growled slightly in frustration when she couldn’t fault Nat’s logic. “Do you understand it was wrong for you to leave in the middle of the night like that?”

Wanda nodded in annoyance staring at a spot on the floor, “good, then you understand why you need to be punished…”

Wanda’s eyes flicked up from the floor to meet Natasha’s. “What???”

“You are grounded Wanda, that means you are to stay in the house at all times. You are also going to apologise to everyone when they return for making them all worry.”

Wanda nodded again slightly shell shocked. 

“I’m grounded…Even after everything I did, everything I destroyed. You aren’t getting rid of me?”

“Wanda you need to get past this….” Stated Natasha running her fingers through the younger girl’s hair again. Natasha glanced down at the sad girl in her arms, and steeled herself, “this is your one free pass Wanda. You ever scare me like that again…’  
She left the threat unfinished. 

“Natasha...” said Wanda weakly. “I’m sorry for running off...”

Natasha smiled in spite of the situation, and just hugged her tighter. 

“Can I ask you a question?” asked Wanda quietly. 

“Of course you can Malyhska,” the Russian term of endearment just casually left her mouth. Wanda found it more comforting than the other words that Natasha had been calling her. The eastern European language reminded her of home and her roots. 

“Why did you agree to all this? Why do you care about me?”

Natasha pulled the girl away from her, and realised she needed to open up to her. As much as she hated bringing up any of her past. Trust was not a one-way street. Natasha beckoned the girl to the sofa and they both sat down. 

“How much do you know about me?”

Wanda scrunched her nose up, as she thought about the question, “You are an avenger, the black widow. Dangerous, powerful and deadly. Your reputation in Sokovia was such that you were akin to the bogeyman. Don’t misbehave or the the Russian Black widow will get you.”

Natasha laughed slightly at that, but quickly changed back to serious, “Have you ever heard of the red room?”

Wanda shook her head, silently beckoning Natasha to continue.  
“I was raised in the red room. Trained to be a killer. My experiences there were not pleasant. One day I will talk to you about them, but that day is not today,” she finished sadly. “I was alone, I graduated from the academy, and was sent out into the world to do the bidding of powerful men. I killed a lot of people. You may have heard me talking previously about my ledger. Trying to balance the scale.”

Natasha took another deep breath to steady her nerves, “I built myself quite the reputation, enough for Shield to take an interest. They sent Hawkeye to eliminate me. He should have killed me, instead he saved me. I don’t mean he saved my life, he saved my soul. They made me human again.” 

Wanda had to interrupt, “you were always human Nat.”

“I didn’t think I was,” she replied simply.

Wanda took a second to take in all the information, “I appreciated you telling me this, but I don’t understand how this answers my question.”

“I was raised by the KBG; you were raised by Hydra. I want to be your Clint. I see you and I see a little girl. I see part of myself. I want to help you in a way I didn’t get until I was an adult.”

“So I’m a pity project,” stated Wanda quietly in resignation. 

“No that’s how it started,” stated Natasha. “Then I got to know you. You are kind, loyal, beautiful inside and out. You aren’t like me. You make me a better person, and I want to see you flourish in this world. I want to protect you, nurture you...Most importantly I love you.” 

Wanda gasped at the final words, “You love me?”

“How could I not Wanda?”

Wanda threw herself into Natasha’s arms tucking her head under the older woman’s chin. She couldn’t say the words back even though she knew how difficult it was for Natasha to say them. “Will you love me when I’m awkward and difficult?” 

“Especially then,” agreed Natasha with a smirk, happy that Wanda could acknowledge her own teenage mood swings. “Now come on, you have a lot of work to do.” She gently manoeuvred the girl away from her so they were sat apart again. 

Wanda looked back at her in confusion, “What work?”

“You have a list of chores to do,” Natasha replied smugly. Wanda’s face fell, “Nat!”

She pulled her to her feet, and swatted her playfully, “Yeah you can start with moping the kitchen.”


	6. Sheer Stupidity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't always guarantee daily updates, and I doubt I will be able to continue at this pace. Your comments have meant the world to me and really encouraged me.

Several weeks had passed at the farm, and as much as Wanda hated to admit it, she enjoyed it there. Her birthday passed with very little fanfare, which is just what Wanda wanted. Her first birthday without Pietro had been painful. Natasha had patiently held her as she sobbed for his loss. Her birthday felt more like a memorial service than an actual celebration. They had now got themselves into a bit of a routine, in the morning she spent most of her time, working through the online classes that she had been set up with. The afternoon she spent training with Clint and Natasha. Wanda thoroughly enjoyed training outside being connected to nature in that way seemed to make her powers flourish. She could almost fly. Well she could hover awkwardly which was almost flying. 

Wanda still struggled slightly with sparring, one on one combat was not her forte. She was currently fighting with Clint, as Natasha watched on. It was strictly a no powers exercise. She hopped backwards as Clint aimed a particularly hard leg sweep in her direction. “Focus Wanda.”

Wanda growled in frustration and threw a sloppy punch in his direction, he easily caught it and pulled her towards him and grabbing in her a tight sleeper hold. Clint let go and pushed her away. “You are better than that Wanda.”

“I don’t need to practice this, I have powers! I will never fight like this.”

Natasha shook head, “What if you are ever incapacitated in a fight? Or your powers don’t work? You need to be prepared for anything when Hydra are involved.”

Nat felt her phone going off in her pocket, so beckoned the two to continue, before walking off to take the call. The caller ID indicated it was Steve.

“Hey Rogers, you missing me that much you just wanted to hear my voice?”

“Funny Romanoff, we have a mission. We have located a Hydra base in Sokovia, we need to take it out, and retrieve the intel on the weapons they are building.”

Natasha nodded, “Understood. When do we leave?”

“We will pick you up tonight, we are infiltrating at night. I know Hawkeye is technically retired but can you ask him to join. We could use the extra fire power until Wanda is older.”

Natasha nodded in agreement, “He never can say no to me.”

She disconnected the call before heading back to the two panting and sweaty fighters. 

“Lets take a break,” she stated. Wanda exhaled in relief. She grabbed a bottle of water off the ground and gulped it down happily.

“So who was on the phone?” asked Clint. 

“Rogers, he needs our help. Hydra base infiltration.”

Clint nodded. Wanda perked up, “when do we leave?”

Natasha glanced at the girl knowing this was not going to go down well, “Clint and I leave tonight. You will be staying with Laura and the kids.”

“What? Why?” questioned Wanda in shock, “I know most of the bases, I have the insight and the powers.”

“They also want to recapture you, and you are also too young,” replied Natasha. 

Wanda look at her in anger, “This is not a negotiation. I am going. I am an avenger.”

Natasha just shook her head, “You are not.”

Clint stood awkwardly off to the side during the exchange not wanting to get involved in the domestic. 

“You are being ridiculous!”

“Maybe I am, but I’m not going to change my mind,” replied Natasha calmly. “You need to stop yelling at me though. You are only going to get yourself in trouble if you continue.”

“Go fuck yourself.” Wanda yelled in Russian, she stormed off in a rage back towards the house.

“You need to apologise to Nat for that,” yelled Clint after the retreating the teen, he knew enough Russian to translate what she said. Wanda just stuck her finger up at the man over her shoulder in response. 

“Let is go Barton,” stated Natasha weakly, “She will calm down eventually…”

……………………………………………………..

Rogers arrived in the jet later than night, Natasha boarded with Clint. She kept glancing nervously back to the house. Wanda had refused to leave her room for the last few hours, and while Natasha knew they needed to discuss their conversation earlier she recognised the girl needed to cool off. She also wasn’t quite sure how to deal with the surly teenager. It was difficult to ground a girl who couldn’t really leave anyway. 

Wanda’s reaction had left her feeling slightly wounded. She knew the girl would be unhappy about being left behind, but hoped she would understand why she made that decision. 

“Laura will look after her,” said Clint gently, he could almost see the thoughts running through his partner’s mind. “Don’t worry so much.”

“I always worry…”

……………………………………….

Wanda used her powers to infiltrate the jet. She felt some guilt for using her powers on Laura, who had informed the avengers she was with them when they had set off. She guessed it was the only reason they hadn’t checked the jet for a stowaway. Wanda knew she should question their security for how easily she slipped onto the jet. The only one who noticed her was Vision. She guessed it was due to their shared power from the mind stone. She placed a finger to her lips to indicate to him to not say a word and he nodded in agreement. 

She listened carefully to the briefing on the ship. Aware of the objective and the mission parameters. She had stayed at this base previously, so knew the layout particularly well. Wanda realised in that second she really hadn’t thought this through. She looked down at her clothes, a skirt and a top, not exactly fighting clothes, well not when compared to the suited up avengers. 

The plane landed discreetly and the avengers all exited the plane. Wanda hesitated for a few minutes before following suit, bumping into Vision who had waited for her. 

“I’m not entirely sure you are supposed to be here Wanda?”

“You are correct Vis, but you can’t tell anyone,” whispered Wanda. 

“Fine, but can I at least accompany you?”

Wanda nodded in agreement as they stalked up to the old castle. She went around to the side which had the highest wall. She placed her hands by her side, and felt the rush as her powers pushed her up into the air, she felt Vision floating beside her. She beckoned him to go the other side of the window. She then reached in and tugged the soldier out of the open window down to the ground. Wanda floated in gently into the hallway, before coaxing her finger to indicate Vision to follow. They stealthily walked down the corridor, taking out the soldiers silently. Delving deeper and deeper into the facility travelling down to the basement. When they suddenly heard the shrill alarm being sounded. 

“Someone has been spotted,” said Vision unnecessarily. Wanda didn’t need those words to be aware their position was vicarious. They were deep in the base, on their own, and they were now compromised. They heard the soldiers coming before they even saw them, soon the corridor was flooded with men holding weapons.

Wanda turned to Vision, “we need to get out into the open.”

Wanda knew her powers worked better in big open spaces, small corridors were not her speciality, neither was close quarter combat. She grabbed his hand and yanked him with her turning sharply around the corner. She threw open a door quickly closing it behind them and used her powers to barricade the door. They were deep in the rabbit hole, Wanda realised the dangerous position they were in. Wanda turned to Vision, “Do you have comms?”

Vision nodded. 

“Tell them,” muttered Wanda. Vision turned to her, as if to make sure she heard the words she had said. “We need help.”

Vision turned his earpiece on, “I am in need of assistance. I’m trapped in the base.”

Wanda heard Tony’s voice come over the line, “Vision just phase through the walls. And get out? Or are you injured?”

“I am uninjured,” expressed Vision quickly. Making Wanda slap her hand against her head. Tony had just given them the perfect excuse and Vision hadn’t taken it. This time Steve’s voice came over the comms, “Then why can’t you phase? We are all a bit occupied at the moment.”

Wanda could hear the gunfire from where she was stood. She found her stomach dropping when she realised the situation they were in. She grabbed Vision’s arm, “Don’t worry Vis we will get out on our own.”

“Who was that?” asked another voice over the system, “Have you got someone with you?”

Wanda shook her head furiously. “Um… No,” lied Vision.

“Vision you are literally the worst liar in the world,” said Natasha over the communication link. “What’s going on?”

Wanda was looking at him with pleading eyes but he looked back to the barricaded door, which he could feel the soldiers starting to push against. 

“I have Wanda with me,” he rushed out in one breath. Wanda visibility flinched at the words. There was silence over the communicators. 

“Wanda Scarlett Maximoff!!” came the screeching voice over the communication device. Vision visibly flinched at the sound. 

“Oww Romanoff, did you have to shout so loud, your errant teenager is the only without an earpiece,” moaned Tony over the line. 

“Vision put her on.” Stated Natasha firmly. Vision handed the earpiece to Wanda who reluctantly clicked it into place. 

“Hey Nat,” she said weakly. 

“Where are you?” asked Natasha clearly. There were hundred other things she wanted to say to the teenager in that moment but settled for business first. 

“Basement level, we have barricaded ourselves in a room in the east wing,” explained being equally Wanda to the point. 

“I’m coming to get you,” replied Natasha sternly. “Are you injured?” she asked in a slightly softer tone.

“No I’m fine,” said Wanda quietly. 

“Good, at least I now know I can kick your ass when I find you.” Wanda gulped audibly. 

Though It was getting harder to hear over the battering the door was now taking. Vision grabbed the earpiece off of Wanda. “We need urgent assistance; the door is not going to hold.”

“You keep her safe vision,” pleaded Clint.

Wanda turned her attention back to the the barricaded door, and starting lifting her arms up the door. Vision placed his arms up in unison. “You ready for this?”

Wanda nodded at that the barricade broke and the soldiers were there. Luckily the effect of having so many people trying to get through one entrance was that they got in each other’s way. Making them slow and easier targets to hit with their powers. Wanda flicked her wrists sending multiple targets flying backwards into the other men trying to bulldoze their way through. Wanda kept throwing multiple people into the corridor walls and into each other, but the lack of space meant she was limited in the force she could generate so they quickly kept coming back at them. In the end Wanda threw her shield up in the doorway, preventing them from getting to them. 

“How long can you hold that for?” asked Vision.

Wanda was already sweating under the strain, “10 minutes at the most.”

Vision looked around the room, there were no windows and the only exit was the one that had a small army occupying it. Vision look up, and shot a beam out making a hole in the stone floor. It took a few minutes, but he eventually made it though the stone. He grabbed Wanda tightly and jumped up through the hall. 

“We have escaped to the room above, but we are outnumbered and Wanda is exhausted. There is a window. Emergency extraction required,” stated Vision firmly. Vision turned his gaze to the window and smashed it out. Hoping the noise would alert the avengers to his location. 

“I’ve got them,” replied Tony. Iron man soon came flying around the corner. He flew through the broken hole where the window used to be. 

“You are in so much trouble underoo,” stated Tony. 

Wanda straightened up to that, “I had it covered.”

“Not what I meant Wanda, you shouldn’t even be here. You are supposed to be at the farm.”

“I am supposed to be here, as an avenger,” stated Wanda in anger. 

Wanda heard Tony mutter something into the side of his helmet followed by an “OK, OK, OK.”

“Mummy says do as you are told, and get back to the jet,” stated Tony in slight jest. 

Tony held out his hand for the witch. Wanda nodded and stepped closer as Tony wrapped his arms around her and took off into the air. 

Wanda soon found herself locked onto the jet, waiting for the others to finish. She sat by the door waiting for it to open. She was not surprised to see the next person walk through the open door. Natasha stood in front of her arms folded, a severe look on her face. She had already been informed that Wanda was uninjured. 

“You want to explain to me what you were thinking?”

“I was thinking I deserve to be here,” responded Wanda with attitude. She didn’t want to back down from the older woman glaring at her. 

“Don’t you dare give me that,” said Natasha barely containing her anger. “You are in a world of trouble. The others are on their way, you are going to sit quietly like a good girl this entire flight back, or so help me….”

Wanda looked at her with disdain, she did not appreciate the good girl comment but she knew in that moment it was better to just stay quiet. She could not remember ever seeing Natasha this angry before. The rage was radiating off the avenger. Wanda sat back in the chair and clicked her seatbelt on, before gazing out of the window. 

She stayed quiet as everyone slowly made their way back onto the plane. Wanda noticed no-one really looked at her. Clint eventually walked over and put a hand on her shoulder in comfort which Wanda appreciated. Natasha hadn’t even hugged her, which was unusual for their relationship now. it made Wanda realise just how upset the woman was. 

“How angry is everyone?” whispered Wanda to Clint.

“Not angry Wanda, more disappointed.”

Those words felt like a hammer blow to her stomach, “I’m sorry.” She felt that feeling bubbling under the surface, that familiar feeling. Her stomach felt heavy, her hands felt sweaty. She needed a release. The guilt was building, she felt sick. 

Wanda rushed to unplug her seatbelt and shoved past Clint into the small toilet on the jet. She emptied her stomach into the toilet basin. Retching loudly as she threw up. She turned around and sat on the floor in the little room. She was sweating from the exertion of vomiting. Wanda turned on the hand dryer that was on the wall, hoping the noise would cover the sound. She removed her wristband which hid the mottled skin and the elastic band. She flicked it several times feeling the burn, each burn got rid of some of the guilt that sat in her stomach. Eventually she heard a light knock on the door,

“You ok sweetheart?”

“Yeah I’m fine,” replied Wanda gasping.

“Can you let me in?”

Wanda quickly pulled the wristband back over her wrist and flushed the toilet. She lifted the seat down, and sat on it so she could open the small door.

Natasha stood on the other side of the door, concern written all over her features. She stepped into the tiny room, closing the door behind her. 

“You ok? You sounded like you were being sick?”

“You are talking to me….” 

“Of course I am…” Natasha then had the realisation, “Oh… Wanda, I’m sorry sweetheart. I just needed to calm down. I was so angry with you; I didn’t want to say something I would regret in the heat of the moment.”

“You don’t hate me?” asked Wanda weakly.

“No I don’t sweetheart,” Natasha wrapped the younger girl in her arms. “You are in a world of trouble, but I love you.”

Wanda nodded and rested her head on the black widow’s shoulder in relief.


	7. Reckoning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter does contain CP- which may make people uncomfortable feel free to skip this chapter. It was just important for the development of the relationship of the characters. 
> 
> Thank you for the lovely comments

Wanda spent the rest of the plane ride sat on Natasha’s lap, no-one openly commented on it, for which she was glad. As she felt quite embarrassed by her need for such childlike intimacy. Wanda curled up more into the older woman, avoiding eye contact with everyone else on the plane. It was slightly awkward when they were dropped off. She stood up to leave the plane, but Natasha grabbed her arm to still her.

“Do you have anything to say to everyone?” 

Wanda flushed red in embarrassment, “I’m sorry…” she said looking at an interesting spot on the floor. Steve approached her gently, “You scared us Wanda, please don’t do anything like that again.”

Wanda just nodded. Tony approached and just awkwardly patted an open hand on her shoulder, “what he said.”

Natasha rolled her eyes playfully at Stark. Sam gave her an awkward fist bump, “stay safe little witch.”

Vision just nodded at her from his seat. 

“Come on sweetheart,” said Natasha gently.

‘I know we are close Nat, but I don’t think Laura would appreciate you calling me sweetheart,” joked Clint. 

Natasha went to open her mouth, but was surprised when everyone chorused “Shut up Barton.” She had the grace to look to slightly embarrassed, “I guess I do say that quite a lot.”

Natasha placed a kiss on Steve’s cheek, and gave a one-armed hug to Tony, “we will see you guys again in a few weeks.”

They walked off the jet into the morning air, “Clint would you mind taking the family out for breakfast, Wanda and I need some alone time.” 

“Not a problem,” replied Clint simply, “there are some waffle houses I’ve been meaning to try.”

Wanda slowly entered the house, and wasn’t surprised to see Laura glaring at her from the kitchen table. “I’m Sor…” Wanda was interrupted in her words by Laura standing up and gripping her tightly in a hug. “Do you have any idea how worried I was? I mean once your little hocus pocus ran out.”

Natasha raised her eyebrows, “Hocus Pocus?”

“I’ll let Wanda explain,” she replied with a wink, “I hope you didn’t think you were going to get away with that one.”

Wanda deflated slightly she looked at Nat earnestly, “I’m feeling a bit tired, can I go to sleep?”

Natasha looked at the girl closely she didn’t look particularly tired, but they had been up all night. “Go upstairs, get your PJ’s on and then I want you to go to my room and stand in the corner.”

Wanda looked at her slightly puzzled, “Stand in the corner?”

“Yes you heard me. I want you to go stand in the corner, and think about all the things you could have done differently last night.”

Wanda seemed slightly perturbed but nodded in understanding before taking off up the stairs. Natasha turned to Clint and Laura, obviously looking for reassurance. 

“You need to do this Nat,” said Laura, reading her mind.

“I know you don’t want to, but she needs this,” echoed Clint. 

Natasha shook her head slightly, “What If she has been abused? What if I’m adding to her trauma?”

Laura smiled at her, “it worked for you, and you if anything were more traumatised and abused than she has been.” 

Natasha blushed slightly, while Clint laughed. 

“you know Laura; you are the only person I know who can make the deadly Black Widow blush.”

“Shu… Give it a rest Barton,” she changed her words at the last minute. Clint smiled at her, “right we will go coral the kids and give you some space, we will be out for a few hours.”

“Thanks Clint,” replied Nat softly. 

Natasha slowly walked up the stairs and gently pushed open her bedroom door, feeling relief when she saw Wanda standing there as requested. Though she hadn’t changed as she had asked she was still wearing her clothes from earlier. She closed the door behind her, and went and pulled out the chair from behind the desk so it was in the middle of the room. Natasha then went over to the bed and sat down on it.

“Wanda come over here please.” She patted the space beside her on the bed.

Wanda quickly left her corner and took up the space Natasha had indicated. 

“So do you want to talk me through the events of last night?” asked Natasha sternly. 

Wanda soon started rapidly explaining everything that happened, from using her powers on Laura to sneaking on the jet, to infiltrating the base, the alarm. “It was all going fine until that alarm was triggered. We didn’t even trigger it, one of you did.”

Natasha raised her eyebrows at the girl, “We didn’t know you were in there, so we weren’t particularly worried about tripping alarms.”

Wanda nodded at the chastisement, knowing Natasha had a point. She sighed heavily, “I just wanted to help. I didn’t want to be the weak little girl sat at home.”

“You are not a weak little girl Wanda, and one day in the near future you will be carrying out missions with us. I told you no today that didn’t mean no forever. You decided to do it anyway. Hydra are dangerous, you know that better than most.”

Wanda looked away from the woman not wanting to acknowledge that last statement. 

“Do you remember what I said would happen if you put yourself in danger?”

Wanda looked at her quizzically, as her brain raced to think of the answer, as she thought back her face paled in realisation. She couldn’t be serious; she had surely only been posturing before. She looked at Natasha’s faces searching, seeking, scanning for any doubt about her intentions. Any sign of hesitation or indecision she could jump on to convince her it was not required. She only saw unwavering commitment to her, she swallowed the lump forming in her throat, at the thought that there was a person that cared about her so deeply. She hadn’t felt that affection in so long, not since Pietro had died anyway, or before her parents had been cruelly taken away from her as a child.

“I don’t need that, I won’t ever do it again I promise, give me a chance,” she pleaded innocently in slight desperation.

Wanda changed tact, “Nat I’m too old…”

“You behaved like a child Wanda, I also think it will help deter you in the future from reckless actions.” As well as help you with this guilt you are still carrying around she thought to herself. “Even if I wasn’t acting as a parent, as an Avenger you need to work as part of a team part of that means following orders and instructions.” 

“What exactly will happen?” questioned Wanda nervously. Natasha pulled the girl back towards her, “I will pull you across my knee, I will lift up your skirt and pull down your underwear, I will then spank you with my hand and my hand only. Then afterwards I will hold you for as long as you need…”

“No belts...” said Wanda though it was said more like a question rather than statement. 

“Never any belts Wanda, it’s not abuse it’s just a punishment. I need you to understand that you can’t do this ever again. Do you know how terrified I was? You could have been killed Wanda.” Natasha took a deep breath to calm herself even saying the words had upset her. 

“When?” questioned Wanda in almost a whisper. Natasha’s words had overwhelmed her slightly. 

“Well I was thinking now Wanda,” replied Natasha quickly, she held out her hand to the girl. Wanda hesitated for the moment before reaching out and grabbing the older woman’s hand. Wanda then surprised the older woman and threw herself into Nat’s arms. Natasha had to adjust to keep her balance on the bed at the sudden weight that had pushed into her. 

“I’m sorry Nat…” she whimpered. That’s when Natasha knew she was doing the right thing. Wanda needed this, it was more than just a punishment, it was a chance to clean the slate. It was something Wanda desperately required, and Natasha just hoped she had the strength to do it. She wrapped her arms tightly around the girl, Wanda rested her head on the older woman’s shoulder nuzzling into Natasha’s neck. She sat down on the bed still holding the younger girl tightly to her. Natasha manoeuvred herself so that her back was against the headboard of the bed, Wanda still wrapped up in her arms. She gently pulled the girl away from her body. 

“Come on,” she cajoled. Natasha tapped her lap gently indicating where the teenager should go. Wanda shook her head, and went to bury herself back into Natasha’s body. Nat realised she had no hope of getting her to the chair she had placed in the room. The bed would have to do. 

“Wanda, come on this is happening.” 

Wanda shook her head slightly, “can’t you just hit me?”

Natasha looked at the girl oddly, “What do you mean?”

Wanda looked back at her, “like whip my back or something.” It seemed more dignified in Wanda’s head, less juvenile. Natasha shook her head, “You don’t punish a child like that.”

“I’m not a child,” whined Wanda with an annoyed shake of her head. 

“I’m getting tired of this conversation Wanda,” replied Natasha rather strictly. “You are not an adult. You are a child, my child. If you misbehave I decide the punishment. I told you what the consequences would be. You chose this punishment yourself when you did what you did.”

Wanda opened her mouth to object, but found that she didn’t really know what to say. She found herself focusing on one part of the statement, “I’m your child?”

Natasha smiled and tucked some Wanda’s brown hair out of her eyes and behind her ear. “Yes, now come on let’s get this over with ok.” 

…………………………………………………………….

She navigated Wanda over her lap, and lifted the girl’s skirt out of the way, smoothing it against her back in a comforting fashion. “Do you understand why we are here?”

Wanda nodded sadly her body was shaking slightly with nerves. Natasha responded by rubbing circles into her back, watching the signs as the Wanda finally starting to relax into her touch. 

“I expect a verbal response when you are in this position…” Natasha continued. 

“Yes Nat,” she replied reticently, hiding her face into the comforter on the bed in embarrassment. 

“Ok I’m going to bare you now,” Natasha explained, wanting to make sure Wanda knew everything that was going on. “Nat, please don’t,” pleaded the girl weakly.

“I have to Wanda, I need to be able to see what I’m doing.”

Wanda craned her neck back, “please Nat,” she barely whispered. Natasha thought carefully about the request and considered this may have something to do with her past, information that she was not currently privy to. She nodded, “This time I will leave them up, but if you ever in this position again they will be by your knees.”

Wanda nodded weakly in agreement. Natasha grabbed a firm grip of the girl’s underwear and pulled them up slightly exposing the cheeks to her sight. Natasha started applying hard spanks. Wanda cringed at the pain, as she felt the swats start to spread across her bottom. She had not expected it to hurt this much. It was embarrassing to be in this position. This whole experience was humiliating she was the Scarlett witch she had been experimented on, tortured, she had even watched her birth parents die, yet she barely shed a tear. But in this moment she found herself choking on the emotion of it all. The fact that this woman cared enough about her to do this. The tempo increased again, “Nat, that’s enough.” She squirmed over her knee slightly, cringing at the blows. 

“You know why we are in this position; you are never to behave so recklessly again. You will do as you are told. You will listen to the adults in your life.” She finished every statement with an extra hard swat. She knew the teenager needed to accept she was still a child it was the only way she could let go of all this guilt and blame she held. 

Wanda threw her hand back to protect herself from the blows, Nat just caught her hand with hers and pinned it gently to her back. “It’s over when I say it is Little one. You are not the one in control here. You are being punished.” Wanda realised she was crying; the tears were cascading down her cheeks onto the comforter she had buried her face into. 

Wanda sobbed lightly lifting her head up, “I’ve learnt my lesson.”

Natasha felt her chest ache at the statement but knew she had to finish what she started. She lifted one of her legs up raising Wanda, so she could assault the tender spit spots. “Mama stop,” Nat’s breath caught in her throat and she stopped mid swat. That word affected her in a way Wanda jokingly calling her mum did not. Her stomach knotted she had never expected to hear that word. Wanda twisted to get up, “I’m sorry Nat, it slipped out.” Natasha kept the girl pinned to her lap as she got her own emotions back under control. Wanda felt the guilt spiralling in her head, she felt like a thief, she had stolen that term. It was not her place to call Nat that. That title was reserved for her real future kids not some pathetic under age team mate. She kept trying to get up from her lap, which was proving difficult, with one of her hands already incapacitated by Natasha. She tried to scoot down so her knees would be on the bed so she could get some purchase in order to get up. Natasha placed a particularly hard swat to the top of her legs in order to snap her back to reality. 

“It’s ok Wanda, you can call me that if you want,” she choked out. Wanda kept struggling in her hold, she placed her free hand onto the bed and tried to push herself up from the position. 

“Wanda stop this, we aren’t finished,” explained Natasha gently. Wanda kept trying to fight to sit up, and Natasha was struggling to keep her calm. Keeping the girl firmly in her grip she managed to get her to the edge of the bed. She then lifted the girl into her arms. Wanda tried to pull away from her, “Stop it Nat! Let me go.”

Natasha just gripped the girl tighter until she eventually gave in to the hold and wrapped her arms around her neck. She carried her across the room, and eventually sat in the chair she had pulled out earlier. Wanda had stopped struggling against her at this point, “Ok Wanda, can we finish this now?”

Wanda groaned slightly, “I promise to never be reckless again.”

Natasha smiled at that softly, “I’m not sure that is a promise a teenager can keep.”

She released the girl from her grip, and then tugged her back over her knee. Wanda was unsure of this new position; she wasn’t sure what to do with her arms. She held her hands out in front and placed her fingertips onto the floor. She felt Natasha lift her skirt back up and she rubbed her back soothingly, “we are nearly done ok sweetheart.” She gave a final volley of hard swats, she felt relief when the girl cried out and sobbed earnestly over her lap. Wanda kicked her legs out in frustration. Natasha glanced at the red backside, and the equally teary girl. She started to rub the sore skin lightly. “Ok Wanda, I want you to explain what lead you to your current position?”

Wanda looked back at her in shock, Now?! Now she wanted to play question time. “I used my powers on Aunt Laura,” she stated. Natasha couldn’t help but smile at the moniker she had applied to Laura, but she still sent her hand crashing down. “What else?” asked Natasha.  
“I disobeyed you and put my self in danger,” she rushed out. Wanda felt the two hard swats connect as she finished the statement. 

‘And what will happen if you do any of those things in the future,” asked Natasha. 

Wanda shook her head, “I don’t know.”

Natasha took the reigns on this one, “You will be punished, if you ever put yourself in danger like that again, I will be taking a hairbrush to your bare ass, do you understand me Wanda Maximoff?”

“Yes,” yelped Wanda, as she felt another hard swat connect. Time for the final 10, Natasha steeled herself. 

“Last ten Wanda I’m not joking when I say you are getting off lucky this time.”

“I don’t feel very lucky,” she whimpered back. Natasha schooled her expression to try and keep the smile of her face, Wanda was so cute even when she wasn’t trying to be. Natasha knew she had to make these last swats count. She brought her hand down hard, and Wanda’s reaction was instantaneous as she tried to throw both her hands back despite how precariously she was balanced. Natasha pinned the uncoordinated hands to her back, and brought her hand down again. Wanda cried out audibly but maintained the struggle, kicking and squirming against the woman, by the 7th Swat, she had stopped fighting and was laying rather limply across her knee. When Natasha noticed that, she quickly finished up the last 3 swats. She glanced down at the backside in front of her it was cherry red the bits she could see, but no bruising, she knew she had not been excessive. Wanda’s reaction was more emotional than a reaction to actual pain. 

She replaced Wanda’s skirt, and lifted the girl of her lap. Wanda’s reaction was to throw herself into Nat’s arms. “I’m sorry Nat, so sorry.” She rubbed her back consoling the sobbing teenager in her arms. “Shh it’s ok little one, you are ok. I’ve got you now. You are safe, you are forgiven and you are loved. You are loved so much my little mouse.” Natasha kept muttering endearments into Wanda’s ears. She wiped away her tears and kept calming her until the sobs turned to the occasional sniffle, however Natasha made no attempt to move, knowing this part had to be all on Wanda’s terms. Wanda snuggled closer into the woman, she was basking in the comfort being offered, even wiping her nose on her shirt. “If I fall asleep will you still be here when I wake up?” questioned Wanda tiredly. 

“I’m not going anywhere.…Come on let’s get you changed.”

Natasha delicately undressed her before pulling a night dress over her head. She started removing the copious amounts of jewellery the young teenager seemed to always be wearing. She went to remove the black sweat band, “Can I leave that on please?”

Natasha looked at her curiously, it looked like a male article of clothing. She thought it must have belonged to Pietro so nodded in agreement. 

…………………………….

Wanda woke up with a start half expecting to be alone, she felt reassured when she turned her head and saw Nat asleep next to her. She turned over in the bed, but then gasped when her backside made contact with the bed. She rubbed the sting away. The motion woke up Natasha who couldn’t hide her smile at the cute site in front of her. It made Wanda look younger than her 16 years. “you ok little one?”

“I’m sore,” she pouted. “and not a little one…”

“You are right, you are not a little one, you are my little one,” replied Nat kissing her forehead.

Wanda sat up on her hand, “by the way never got to ask earlier, how come you kissed Rogers but just hugged the rest?”

“We are old friends,” replied Nat with a roll of her eyes. 

Wanda smirked at the women, “whatever you say…”

“It’s none of your business,” joked Natasha playfully. 

“It is definitely my business,” replied Wanda with a cheesy smile, “Who ever you date may be my new daddy.”

Natasha paled slightly at the inference, and then took in Wanda’s smiling face. “Cut it out you!”

Wanda stepped out of the bed, stretching slightly. Natasha couldn’t help but notice she seemed younger in her gait. She didn’t seem as world weary or beaten down, there was a lightness to her movement and wonderment she had not really seen much of before. Natasha felt relief that the girl held no resentment towards her. 

Wanda turned back to Natasha playfully, “You coming? You need to feed me?”

“I need to feed you?” she questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Wanda just smirked at her, “Hey you wanted to look after me, it’s all part of the package.”

Natasha was just so relieved she was worried how Wanda was going to react to the previous events. It seemed Laura and Clint were right as much as that pained her to admit. Laura especially was always right. 

Wanda didn’t even bother to get dressed before heading down the stairs, she wasn’t surprised to see Laura already sat down there nursing Nathaniel. She glanced around the room, “where’s Uncle Clint?” asked Wanda curiously. 

“He’s just taking a nap,” replied Laura seemingly unfazed by the title Wanda had used. Wanda looked out of the window and could see Lila and Cooper tearing around the garden, playing some sort of game. 

Wanda gingerly approached the woman, “I am sorry Aunt Laura, for using how did you put it? My hocus pocus on you?”

Laura smiled at the teenager, “that’s ok Wanda, I’m sure Nat dealt with it.”

Wanda swallowed at the phrase, and unconsciously rubbed her behind, “yeah she did.”

“Just so we are clear Wanda, you ever do that again, it won’t just be Nat seeing to you…”

Wanda nodded in understanding, “Yeah, got it.”

Natasha came up behind Wanda, having caught the tail end of the conversation. “You threatening my kid Laura?”

Laura laughed, and then gently cradled the baby placing him over her shoulder and started tapping his back. “Always,” joked Laura. 

After successfully completing her task, she laid the baby down in the bassinet. “I’m guessing you two are hungry?” Wanda nodded. 

“I’ll go rustle something up,” stated Laura.

Natasha looked at them, “I’ll leave you to it then, as I desperately need a shower.”

Wanda looked at her, “can’t you stay and help Mama.”

Natasha felt her heart melt at the word. Wanda calling her that may be her new kryptonite. “Of course I can Malyshka.”

Laura smiled at the pair of them, before beckoning them both towards the kitchen.


	8. Change of Scenery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!

Wanda couldn’t remember ever feeling this free. The farm was like this perfect little suburban bubble. She soon learned the Barton’s were incredibly tactile, she never thought she was a big hugger; with them however she loved it. She found herself absorbing it like a sponge. Wanda found herself enjoying this life, since the incident as it had been playfully named, she felt like a teenager again. She still enjoyed training to fight but she also enjoyed building Lego with cooper, and watching Disney films with Lila. 

Cooper especially loved it when she used her powers to put the Lego together. People were normally scared of her power, but the Barton children just seemed enraptured by them. Cooper laughed as Wanda made the Lego Space ship fly around the room above their heads. Only to be stopped mid fight, by a hand plucking it from the sky. 

“Aunty Nat, why did you stop it?”

Natasha placed it down on the table, “because you need to get ready for bed...”

Copper sighed, but agreed to the command. Natasha turned her attention to the teenager, “the facility is ready, we can go back tomorrow.”

Wanda’s face fell slightly. “We can still visit,” explained Natasha sensing Wanda’s disappointment. 

“I know, I just like it here,” replied Wanda.

Natasha laughed at her, “To think you almost had a temper tantrum about coming here…”

“Mama…” whined Wanda in embarrassment, “I don’t have temper tantrums, I’m not a toddler.” Wanda looked awkwardly at the older woman as she considered her next words, “will things change when we are back at the facility?”

Natasha sensed the serious undertone in her words, “like what Malyshka?” 

“Do I need to go back to calling you Romanoff or Natasha? Won’t the others think its weird?”

“Not at all, if nothing else you will have group that would all love to be called your Uncles and Aunts.”

Wanda shrugged at that clearly not entirely comfortable with the concept. 

“It’s your choice Wanda, you don’t have to call them anything you are not 100% happy with,” Natasha stated lightly trying to reassure the younger girl. 

………………………………………………

Wanda smiled as they approached the new Avengers complex in northern New York.   
“This places looks amazing,” she stated in wonderment staring out the window. The green fields and trees were so different from the built up borough of Manhattan. It was more like the farm, which relaxed the teenager slightly. 

“Wanda sit back down and put your seatbelt on please,” Natasha replied with a slight annoyance to her voice. Wanda rolled her eyes in response but followed the instructions. In the weeks that had passed it was safe to say that Wanda was starting to behave more like a “normal” teenager. Steve smirked at Natasha in understanding, he had been the one who had volunteered to pick them up, rather than heading straight from the tower. 

The Quinjet landed at the site. They left the ship to Tony Stark waiting for them, “Welcome back guys.”

“Come on let me give you the grand tour….”

Tony showed them the gym, and the training rooms, before heading to the living quarters that were set up as small bedsits. They dumped their bags off in their respective rooms. Wanda’s adjoining with Natasha though they each had their own bathroom. 

They wandered through the glass hallways. Wanda found herself feeling being overwhelmed slightly by the facility. It was cold and modern, a stark contrast to the farm. They stopped off in the communal living room, it was truly ostentatious in design. In the middle of the room sat a colossal sofa that seemed to wrap around a coffee table. Tony pushed a button on the wall and a TV dropped down from the ceiling. Wanda’s eyes drifted to the corner of the room, where a Piano sat. It was pristine it had clearly never been played and it existed more as an example of opulence and wealth. That fact alone seemed to just to irritate Wanda. She glanced over to Tony, “may I?” she pointed to the Piano.

Tony shrugged his shoulders, “knock yourself out. Romanoff, Cap let me show you the briefing room.” The other three left the room. Wanda carefully caressed the wooden piano, gently lifting the lid up to reveal the keys. She sat down earnestly at the piano, and placed her fingers gingerly onto the black and white keys. She couldn’t remember the last time she had sat at a piano. Wanda closed her eyes, remembering those Sunday mornings sat at the piano with her mother. She kept resting her hands on the piano and keeping her eyes closed slowly started to play, she found her muscle memory allowed her to play, as she played the opening notes to Comptine d'un autre été : L'après-midi. Wanda found herself getting lost in the music, as her fingers danced across the piano. 

“That’s quite impressive…”

The voice broke Wanda away from her playing, and she hit a bum note in response. Tony continued talking, “When did you learn to play the piano?”

“My mother was a piano teacher,” came the curt reply from Wanda, who then closed the lid of the piano down. “Why do you look so surprised?”

Tony shrugged his shoulders, “just surprised you learnt the Piano in Sokovia.”

Wanda’s face hardened, “My parents were teachers, I had a comfortable life. Sokovia is not some third world country for you Americans to look down on. My country was ruined by you. You and your weapons. You profited from my countries destruction and your ignorance is embarrassing.”

Tony Stark looked shocked at the younger girl unable to form words for once in his life. “Letting me live here as an avenger should not abate your guilt, your hands are stained with the blood of my kin. We did not need rescuing until you interfered in the first place.” She brushed past him as she left the room, leaving a stunned Tony Stark standing there. 

Natasha walked back into the room joking with Steve, she took in the stunned Tony and the teenager who was storming off.

“What happened?”

To say Wanda did not like Tony Stark was an understatement. He was arrogant, cocky shit, as far she was concerned. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, she made her so angry. She glanced down at her currently unblemished wrist, it had been a a few weeks since she felt the urge. Wanda thought she was passed it but she was not. She reached into her dresser and grabbed a band out and flicked it angrily against her wrist. Stupid Stark, bringing up Sokovia, reminding me of Pietro. Making me feel guilty for being happy, making me feel guilty for forgetting. Each statement was emphasised by the flick of the band. She reached into her drawer and grabbed another wrist band out and placed it tentatively other her already showing bruises. 

She heard a knock on the door, “Wanda it’s me…”

She walked over and opened the door, “I want to be alone please.”

“Not an option, “replied Nat, “What just happened? What did you say to Tony?”

“Nothing that wasn’t true,” she spat out bitterly. 

“Wanda,” warned Natasha, “Calm down.”

‘I am calm,” argued Wanda irately. “I just don’t want to deal with Stark.”

“Tony Stark built this facility for us, and is funding the Avenger’s initiative, he has paid for your education. He is not perfect, he can be a bit crass, but his heart is in the right place Wanda.”

Wanda rolled her eyes, “Whatever… can you leave me alone now.”

Natasha crossed her arms across her chest. “Watch that tone with me, you can apologise to Tony at dinner.”

Wanda looked at her in pure anger her eyes started to turn red, “he should be apologising to me!”

Natasha just glared at the girl, “You will apologise Wanda.”

“You aren’t even hearing my side of it! Do you even care?” shouted Wanda, the ends of her hair were starting to glow red. 

“Of course I care; I am always here if you want to talk. But one of your rules is to respect Adults.”

Wanda stopped glowing red at that, “Don’t you think I’m going to talk to Stark about inadvertently upsetting you?” Asked Natasha, keen to capitalise on the girl calming slightly, and being more open to rationale thought. 

Wanda looked the woman in the face and saw the sincerity. “Yes.”

Natasha gave her a brief hug and kissed her head. “OK Sweetheart, take some time to get settled, Friday will call you for dinner.”

………………………………………….

They all met in the living room before dinner, there were handshakes and hugs all around. A younger looking male approached Wanda, and held his hand out awkwardly, “Hey I’m Peter, Peter Parker. It’s great to meet you, I saw the videos of you fighting in Sokovia you are amazing!”

“Um thanks,” replied Wanda equally as awkward starring at the teenager, having not yet taken his outstretched hand. Peter dropped it down to his side. Wanda cocked her head to the side, “Why are you here kid?”

“Kid?” replied Peter, “I’m the same age as you.” He puffed his chest out, “I’m also Spiderman.”

Wanda smirked, “So you are the boy swinging around New York in the full body spandex? Rescuing Cats from trees, and helping old ladies crossing the street.” 

Peter blushed slightly, “I’m going to be an avenger, that’s why I’m here.”

Wanda laughed at him, “you are cute.”

She held her her hand out to him, “I’m Wanda, Wanda Maximoff, codename Scarlett witch.”

Peter took it gratefully, “Looking forward to working together Wanda. Mr Stark said you might be coming to the same school as me, Midtown science.”

Wanda huffed, “Yeah that’s not happening.”

Peter’s smile faded slightly, “Oh ok.”

Wanda looked at the hurt boy’s expression, “Oh I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant I’m not going to school. I agreed to do online course, but I have researched it all. I’m just going to do my GED to appease them.”

Peter nodded, “I wonder if Mr Stark will let me do that as well, it saves travelling to Midtown every day from here.”

“So how did you end up here?” questioned Wanda changing the subject away from that topic. 

“Mr Stark found me, spoke to my Aunt May who looks after me, she thinks I’m here on a science internship. It’s almost like a shared custody agreement. What’s your deal?” 

“I am just training to be an avenger, it’s better than Strucker and Hydra.”

………………………………………………

The evening was winding down at the table, “it’s great to have you guys back. It’s not been the same here without you.”

The others all agreed with Tony wholeheartedly. Natasha piped up, “it’s great to be back, looking forward to seeing the work you guys have done while we’ve been away.”

Tony looked down the table, “Parker I think it’s time you headed to bed, we have an early morning tomorrow with training.”

Peter stood up, “fine, fine good night guys.”

Natasha glanced over to Wanda next to her, who was sat between her and Steve. Wanda just glared at her, daring her to say anything. “Wanda you too, we have had a long day of travelling.”

“I’m not tired ma… Nat,” replied Wanda, picking up her glass of water and taking a sip of it. Natasha leaned in closely to her charge and whispered, “it wasn’t a suggestion, you can either get up and politely excuse yourself or I can stand up, and tell everyone it’s Wanda’s bedtime, and I can carry you to bed...” She finished with a raised eyebrow.

“You are evil mama…fine…” she whispered. Wanda stood up in resignation, “good night guys.”

“Night Wanda.” 

…………………………………………………………

“How do you cope with that?” she turned to Peter as they left the dining room. “We are powerful in our own right not little children who need to be coddled.”

Peter just shrugged his shoulders at Wanda, “they aren’t that bad? Maybe a bit overbearing.” 

Wanda stopped walking down the corridor, “a bit?’ she questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“Well you know we aren’t exactly a normal family. You are being hunted by Hydra, and I have a bunch of people I have put in prison. Plus, all the people they have after them, who would use us to just get to them.”

Wanda sighed at the reason, “I hate it when you use logic.” Peter smirked but wrapped his arm around his pseudo-cousin. 

“I am a genius you know.” 

Wanda slapped his head playfully. “careful you are starting to sound like Tony.”

Parker grimaced at those words, sensing the tension behind Wanda’s words, “Tony isn’t that bad you know.”

“Let’s agree to disagree,” she replied shortly. 

“Please give him a chance Wanda.”

She shook her head at him, “He murdered my parents. Whatever way you spin it. Good night Spider-boy.”

Wanda didn’t spare Peter another glance as she shut the bedroom door behind her. 

……………………………………………………..

“How is the taming of the shrew going?” Joked Tony to the table.  
Natasha glared at him, “See it's things like that, that make me want to hit you Stark.”

“Give it a rest Tony,” moaned Pepper from the other side of the table. She turned her attention to Natasha.

“How is it really going?” asked Pepper softly. 

“It always feels like two steps forward and one step back,” explained Natasha. Sam spoke up, “I could have sworn she went to call you mama earlier.”

Natasha nodded, “yeah she switches between Nat and Mama. I was Mama at the farm, but back here, I think she feels embarrassed.”

Pepper nodded in understanding, “is there anyway we can help?”

Natasha looked thoughtful, “How do you feel about being Aunt Pepper?”

……………………………………………….


	9. Normalcy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the lovely comments it really inspires me...

Wanda wondered into the kitchen sleepily the next morning, and grabbed at the coffee that was already brewed. Pepper was already sat in the kitchen, with a newspaper. Peter was sat next to her devouring some toast.

“Ah Wanda, great to see you.”

“Where is everyone?” asked Wanda curiously having not seen anyone else this morning. Even Natasha’s room had been empty. 

“Training exercise,” prompted Pepper. Wanda shot up in alarm, “Why wasn’t I woken up?”

“Because you my dear are spending the day with me. Natasha has entrusted me with taking you shopping. If it was left to her you would end up in cat-suits,” she joked.

“What about Parker?”

“He is coming too, his back to school wardrobe needs updating,” stated Pepper.

“I thought we were supposed to be training today, both of us,” muttered Wanda bitterly. She was very uncomfortable taking any more Stark hand-outs. “I don’t need any more clothes. I am fine with what I’ve got.”

“Nonsense,” replied Pepper. “Now grab some toast and get dressed we leave in 30 minutes.”

………………………

Wanda uncomfortably followed the pair of them through the mall. She felt very out of her depth and lost in the space. All the people were making her nervous, she never did well in crowds of people. Watching people stuff their faces in the food court, with no regard. She thought back to when she and Pietro had been starving on the streets. When they searched through dustbins for any morsel of food. Wanda watched a particularly fat man, throw half a burrito in to the bin. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. 

“Wanda keep up Darling,” said Pepper from upfront. She shuddered but trotted up by her side. 

“So what’s your style?” questioned Pepper warmly. Wanda just shrugged, “I don’t really have a style, I just wore whatever I could get.”

Wanda’s answer made Pepper’s heart ache, “well now you get to have a style.”

“I’m not that bothered,” answered Wanda simply. “I have enough.”

Pepper linked her arm with the teenager on side and grabbed Peter on the other, “Let me decide when you have both had enough.”

Wanda had decided she had enough in the first store, Pepper insisted she tried on everything like a Barbie doll. Clothes were just a necessity, a means to keep warm and covered. She didn’t understand why it mattered what name was on the clothes, or why a T shirt could cost more money than what she and Pietro spent on food in a month. They left the store with bags of clothes much to Wanda’s disgust. They walked through the mall, Wanda hesitated outside a music store. Pepper noticed her interest, “Do you want to have a look Wanda?”

Wanda went to shake her head, so Peter jumped in, “I would like to have a look if that’s ok Miss Potts?”

They all entered the store, there were boxes filled with sheet music and books. Wanda found herself perusing them thoughtfully.

Pepper came up behind while she was lost in thought, “Do you want to buy some?”

Wanda shook her head sharply. Pepper looked at the girl sadly, “What if I want to buy you some? I did miss your birthday.”

“You don’t need to do that…” replied Wanda weakly.

“Nonsense, It’s my job as your aunt to make sure you are spoilt. Your mama can worry about the rest.”

Her words took Wanda’s breath away, “Really?”

“Yes darling, so pick out a few books ok?”

Wanda nodded again, and picked up a couple of the books quietly. 

After the music store they headed back out into the busy Mall. “How about some lunch?”

Both kids nodded as they headed over to the busy food court. There were almost too many options available. Pepper beckoned to an empty table, “Grab a seat Kids, I’ll be back with the food in a second.” 

Wanda sat down at the table dumping the bags under the table, “it’s a bit full on isn’t it?”

Peter looked at her questioningly, “No different from any other mall.”

Wanda laughed, “It’s different from the malls I remember, it has four walls and a roof.”

Peter didn’t know what to say to comments like that. He knew on a level that Wanda enjoyed making him uncomfortable. Peter knew it was a coping mechanism, so didn’t call her out on her behaviour. He glanced over and noticed Wanda was looking a bit pale. The noise was getting a bit unbearable for her. She covered her ears with her hands. “I need some space,” she muttered, Wanda stood up abruptly and went to walk away.

“Wanda, Stop.” Peter was caught in two minds, stay or follow. In the end he took to long to make a decision, and Wanda had disappeared into the crowd of people. 

Pepper returned with the food to a distraught Peter, and an empty seat. 

………………………………………………..

Tony was stood off to the side watching Steve and Natasha spar. When he saw the incoming call from Pepper on his sunglasses. He answered it immediately.

Natasha’s focus was broken; by the panicked tone she could hear through the device.

“Calm down Peps,” exclaimed Tony. “We are coming.”

Tony hung up the call, “Romanoff we have a situation.”

Natasha came rushing through the mall towards where Pepper and Peter were sitting. 

“I’m so sorry Nat, I only went to get food,” cried Pepper. 

“It’s ok Pepper, It’s not your fault,” Natasha soothed staying remarkably calm. She turned her attention to Peter, “What did she say before she left?”

“She said she needed space,” he replied simply. Natasha nodded, and looked to Stark, “Can you hack into the security cameras?”

‘Already on it,” came the reply. 

Steve and Natasha started to walk around the mall, checking everywhere they could for the young witch. Wanda stood outside the side exit of the mall, she had managed to bum a cigarette of a stranger. Well she had coerced him with her powers to give her a cigarette if that was the same thing. She took a long pull of the cigarette and leaned with her back against the wall. Wanda glanced at her watch, she had been missing for over an hour. She dropped the end to the floor, and stepped on it putting it out. 

She took a deep breath and re-entered the mall, heading back to the food court. Pepper caught sight of her first and wrapped her in a tight crunching hug, “Where have you been? What were you thinking?”

“I just needed some space,” replied Wanda.

“You can’t wonder off like that! You scared me and your mother.”

Wanda turned her head when she heard Stark on the phone, “she’s here, yeah she’s fine.”

She pulled away from Pepper’s hug, “You called her?”

“Of course I did Wanda, you disappeared on me.”

“I told Peter,” she whined slightly. Pepper raised her eyebrows at the girl, “you should have told me you were feeling overwhelmed Darling.”

Wanda looked guilty, “I’m sorry Aunty Pepper.”

“Wanda!”

She turned her head sharply at the voice, and saw Natasha rushing towards her. 

“Hey Mama,” she said weakly. Natasha pulled the teenager into her body. “what were you thinking??” she questioned angrily into her ear. Wanda shrugged in response. 

“That is not an answer young lady.”

Tony interrupted the moment, “Maybe we should take this somewhere more private.”

………………………………………………………

They walked back into the facility, Natasha still had a tight grip on Wanda’s arm. She hadn’t let go of her since she had found her.

Natasha led them straight up to her room, “give me one good reason why I shouldn’t turn you over my knee right now?”

“I got overwhelmed,” replied Wanda, “I’m sorry Nat I didn’t think.”

This response caused Natasha to calm down considerably. She clearly hadn’t acted in a belligerent teenage fashion. This was different from her usual protestations. 

“Ok, so talk to me,” said Natasha gently trying to coerce the girl to talk. 

‘It was just too much Mama,” whimpered Wanda. She looked sadly out of the window, avoiding looking at Natasha. She felt ashamed of her emotional reaction. 

“I’m sorry Wanda, it’s my fault. I pushed you too much. I just wanted you to experience a normal day,” said Natasha sadly observing the teenager’s reaction. 

Wanda looked at her inquisitively, “What is normal?”

“I guess I don’t really know,” admitted Natasha, thinking back to her own damaged childhood.

“Then don’t worry about it,” joked Wanda lightly. Natasha hugged the younger girl. 

Wanda pulled away from the hug. “So will you do it now?”

“Do what now?” asked Natasha curiously, running her fingers through Wanda’s long brown hair. 

“You know….” whispered Wanda awkwardly. 

‘I really don’t Malyshka.”

Wanda looked at her annoyed that she was making her say it, “You know... the threat you made.” 

Natasha looked at her in bemusement, “Oh you mean spank you.”

“Mama don’t say it like that!” moaned Wanda cringing at the terminology, “Can’t you call it something else?”

Natasha laughed at the embarrassed teenager, “Just calling it was it is sweetheart, and no I’m not going to this time.”

Wanda looked at her in surprise, “but I ran off?”

“This has got to be a first Wanda, a kid trying to talk herself into a punishment,” Natasha smirked, Wanda frowned at her clearly reacting to being called a kid. “This was a different circumstance, now don’t get me wrong Wanda. Next time you feel overwhelmed I need you tell someone. I won’t accept you running off again.”

“Got it Mama,” said Wanda nervously. Natasha smiled at the address, Wanda did keep flitting between Nat and Mama. She didn’t think she was even consciously aware of it. 

“Now a little Birdie told me you are excellent pianist,”

“Mediocre at best,” replied Wanda self-deprecatingly. 

“Well I’m a mediocre Ballet dancer as well, so maybe together we can revel in mediocrity.”

‘I would like that,” said Wanda with a warm smile on her face.  
………


	10. Honesty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy, had a tough weekend. I've not been able to write as much as I would have liked.

Peter shot some webbing at Wanda. She ducked and spun avoiding the hit. Wanda turned back and through her arm out she watched him go flying through the air. He manoeuvred mid air so his feet landed on the wall he pushed hard of the wall and went flying towards the witch. Wanda pushed her hands out to the floor, her powers lifted her high up into the air to meet him. She threw her punch with her power, it connected into Peter’s stomach and he went flying to the floor. Wanda turned to attack again but stopped when she realised Steve had caught the other teenager. 

Natasha yelled out, “Stop.”

Wanda slowly lowered herself back to the ground. “You ok Parker?”

Peter wheezed, but held his hand up indicating the thumbs up sign. “Nice work Wanda,” called out Steve as he helped the weary Peter to his feet. Wanda smirked at him. Steve shouted out, “Sam your up next, let’s see how you fare.” He activated his wings and flew towards the teenager who steadied herself in anticipation. 

Natasha was stood off to the side observing the the action. Tony stood to the side, “you know she is more than ready to be a full time Avenger?”

Natasha grunted at him, “she is still only 16.”

He turned to face her, “you were killing people at 16.”

Natasha grimaced at him, “she isn’t me.”

Steve helped Peter over to the observers, Tony grabbed him in a loose hug. “Good job underoo.”

“What good job getting my ass kicked?” joked Peter. They watched Sam go spiralling into the wall of the facility. 

“I think Wanda kicks everyone’s ass,” explained Tony, as they watched the frustrated Sam, turn and go again. 

“Rogers, can you help me make Romanoff here understand, that her issues shouldn’t stand in the way of Sabrina the teenage witch,” expressed Tony. 

“Rogers can you tell Stark to not get involved with things that don’t concern him,”

Steve held his hands up in mock surrender, “I think you two are more than capable of speaking to each other without using me as a buffer, come on Spidey let’s go grab some lunch.” Steve led Peter away from the two bickering adults. 

Tony crossed his arms and leaned back into the wall, “You know what I think?”

‘If I said I didn’t care would that stop you talking?” questioned Natasha. 

“Has it ever?” replied Tony with a smirk and an eyebrow raise. 

“You are a new mom, and you are terrified of her getting hurt. I get that you skipped the first 15 years which means you are at the wrong stage. You are being the smother,” explained Tony.

“I still don’t see how this is any of your business,” said Natasha bitterly. Tony’s words striking a few chords to close to home. 

“it’s my business, because we are the avengers and you are benching our strongest member, in some misguided attempt to be protective. Which is just a lie you are telling yourself.”

Natasha growled at him, “She is not a weapon.”

“I wasn’t saying she was Romanoff. You are so tetchy when it comes to baby witch,” moaned Tony. 

“Then what are you saying?” asked Natasha bitterly. 

“I am saying you shouldn’t let your fears control her,” explained Tony his tone becoming gentler. 

Natasha swallowed and took a deep breath, “I’m compromised Tony, I would abandon you all to save her.”

Tony smirked at her, “Before Wanda it was Barton, you would have left me to die if it meant saving Barton. You can pretend that you were all about the mission, but you have always dropped everything for certain people in your life.”

Natasha thought about his words carefully and realised there was some truth to that. She thought back to when Loki brainwashed Clint, she had literally abandoned her mission as soon as she heard. Tony bumped his shoulder into her in acknowledgement. “Don’t worry so much Nat, but stop lying to yourself. Maybe it’s you that’s not ready, rather than Wanda not being ready.”

Sam came wheezing over and patted Tony’s shoulder, “Tag your it, I’m done with the witch.”

“That the best you got,” joked Wanda her accent always seemed thicker when she was fighting. Natasha thought it was because she was more relaxed when she was in combat. Tony clicked the face mask down on his iron man suit, “Let’s tango Maximoff.”

He thrust off from the floor and headed straight towards Wanda shooting at her. She quickly threw up her shield deflecting the shots. 

“Stark take it easy,” shouted Natasha over the sound of the shooting. Wanda just laughed, “Don’t worry I can take him.”

“Don’t get cocky Wanda, focus,” worried Natasha. Wanda just smirked and threw her hands up in the air, tossing Tony into the roof of the building. She dropped her guard briefly as he hit the ceiling, and shot from his palm ricocheted off the roof, and bounced down hitting the top of her arm. Wanda hissed in slight plain, she circled her good arm in front of her forming a sphere of red energy. She went to thrust it towards Tony, but Natasha stepped in front of her. “That’s enough for today I think.”

Tony groaned stepping to this feet, “I was the only one to get a hit in.”

“Yeah accidently,” moaned Wanda, “you didn’t aim that, you got lucky!”

“Sometimes you just need to get lucky,” explained Tony simply. Natasha grabbed Wanda’s uninjured arm, “come on let me clean that up.”  
………………………………..

Wanda was sat on the toilet lid in Natasha’s bathroom, wearing a small tank-top. Natasha was cleaning up the wound gently. 

“Mama, it’s barely even a scrape,” moaned Wanda. Natasha glanced back at her, “most injuries kill you later, improper medical care kills more soldiers than the initial injury.”

Wanda rolled her eyes at her, “yeah so you always tell me.”

Natasha carefully put the anti-septic cream on the small wound and then wrapped a bandage around it. “I did beat him though.”

Natasha nodded at the teenager, “you did.” The two sat in silence as Natasha finished up the wound care. Finally, Wanda broke the silence. 

“Mama?”

“Yes Malyshka,”

“Why don’t you spar with me anymore?” asked Wanda innocently. 

“because,” she replied trying to avoid the question.

“because??”

Natasha sighed, “because you are my little one. I can’t hit you.”

Wanda smirked at her, “that’s good to know, glad to know I’m safe from your hand now.”

Natasha glared jokingly at her, “That is always on the table Wanda, even when you are 30.”

“What?!” said Wanda. Natasha laughed at her response. 

“But seriously, I miss sparring with you. I mean the others don’t even put up a real fight.”

“Alright cocky one, we’ll see,” replied Nat. She pulled the girl gently to her feet, “now go do your schoolwork.”

Wanda scrunched her nose up, “can we call it academia rather than school work? Sounds better.”

“I will call it academia when you are at university,” stated Natasha.

Wanda giggled at her, “Uncle Clint is right, you are hard work.”

“Uncle Clint is a bad influence…” 

……………………………………………………………………

Wanda sat at the kitchen table with Peter, piles of books open in front of them. Wanda visibility cringed at the amount of work in front of her.

“I don’t see why I really need this,” Wanda stated in annoyance. 

Peter looked up from his books, Wanda continued to speak, “I mean I’ll never use algebra again. This is just a waste of my time.”

The more she spoke the more frustrated she got. Tony took that moment to to walk in the kitchen to grab a coffee taking a short break from him Lab research work. 

“Hey Kiddos,” he acknowledged the room. 

“Hey Mr Stark,” replied Peter. 

“How many times Peter, it’s Tony,” He replied in slight exasperation. 

Peter turned slightly red in embarrassment, “Sorry Mr… I mean Tony.”

“How’s the Math going?” 

Wanda sat up tensely, “That is none of your concern Stark.”

They all felt the tension rise in the room. Neither Peter nor Tony knew really what to say that.

“I won’t have to concern myself with math for much longer,” Wanda stated simply. 

Tony looked at her curiously, “What makes you say that?”

“I’m going to get my GED, and after that I won’t need to worry about it,” explained Wanda.

Tony picked up the coffee mug and took a long intake of caffeine. “Nat’s agreed to that then?”

Wanda narrowed her eyes at him, “It doesn’t concern her either.”

Tony nearly spat his coffee out in amusement, “You are joking right? I’m pretty sure Nat has school planned for you.”

Wanda snorted, “that isn’t going to happen.”

“Can I please be there when you tell her this? It will be like watching the modern day sinking of the titanic,” replied Tony bluntly. 

Wanda started muttering several swear words under her breath in Sokovian aimed at the billionaire.

“I may not speak Sokovian but I think I understood the gist of that.”

Peter sensing the growing tension, kept awkwardly glancing between the two people. Wanda stood up the fury showing in her eyes, “I’ve had enough of this shit.”

She glanced back to the books to emphasis she was talking about the school work rather than the man. Even if she had aimed it partially at the man as well. 

“I’m going out for a walk.”

With those words Wanda strode purposefully from the room. 

“Am I Wanda repellent?” joked Tony to Peter awkwardly. Peter just turned his head back to books. He would be Switzerland when it came to the two of them. 

………………………………………………………….

Wanda loved being outside at the facility, the trees, the green. It always calmed her down. She liked to remove her shoes and socks and feel the grass beneath her feet. Wanda for some reason also loved to climb. She knew it was slightly childish, but it helped her feel connected and grounded. There was an irony about feeling grounded when being high up in the trees, but Wanda didn’t think about it for too long. 

She meandered towards the tallest tree she could see, before slowly starting to embark on her climb. Wanda gripped tightly as she climbed higher and higher, until she was sat at the top of the highest bough. She relaxed and felt herself swaying slightly in the wind. Wanda closed her eyes and leaned back against the tree trunk. She didn’t know why she let Tony get under her skin like he did, it was a source of great frustration. But here she felt calm and safe. With her eyes closed and her body relaxed it didn’t take long for sleep to overcome her. 

……………………………………………………………….

Natasha wondered into the kitchen and was surprised to see Peter sat on his own surrounded by a mountain of books.

“Hey Pete, how’s the studying going?”

Peter smiled up at the woman, “it’s going well... I think...”

Natasha smiled at him reassuringly, “I’m sure you are doing excellently. Where’s Wanda?”

Peter swallowed slightly, “She went for a walk.”

Natasha looked at him questionably, “A walk?”

“Um… She got into a discussion with Mr Stark earlier…”

“And by discussion you mean?” asked Natasha sternly in no mood for semantics. 

Peter stayed quiet, unsure how to explain the conversation. Natasha realised she was being slightly unfair in trying to get the answers from the other teenager, and took off to find Tony. 

………………………………

Tony was sat in his lab staring at the screen in front of him, he was getting annoyed with himself for his failure to get this to work. He sighed before glaring at the screen more intensely as if that would make a difference. 

“You been upsetting my kid again Stark?”

Tony turned abruptly to the voice, “Romanoff.”

“That didn’t answer my question,” replied Natasha.

Tony help his hands up in mock surrender, “I asked an innocuous question and she bit my head off like a rabid wolf. Sabrina has an issue with me not the other way around.”

Natasha sighed and knew Tony was telling the truth. She could almost imagine exactly how the scenario panned out. 

Tony looked back at her, “Don’t worry Romanoff, she will eventually warm to me it just takes a while.”

“Yeah it took me at least a year,” 

“I still haven’t even warmed to you,” joked Tony back, before he turned less jovial.

“You may want to speak to her about school though.”

Natasha raised her eyebrows at him, “in what context?”

“She thinks you are going to let her do her GED, actually correction. She told me she is doing her GED.”

“What as in high school equivalency exam? How does she even know about that?” queried Natasha. 

“Peter told me she googled it,” replied Tony. “You may want to have that discussion sooner rather than later, before she gets any more set on the idea.”

Natasha nodded tiredly, “You are a good guy you know that Tony?”

“The best.”


	11. Best Laid Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy, your comments keep me inspired!

Wanda woke up when she heard someone shouting her name. She blearily turned her head towards the ground. She teetered slightly in her tired state on the branch, she felt her hand slip, her grip loosens. The next thing she felt was air rushing through her face. In panic she threw her hands out in front of her and was relieved when she was able to slow her fall. She unsteadily fell to her feet. 

Peter emerged from the trees, “That was amazing. That most have been about 30 feet!”

Wanda shrugged slightly, “let’s keep that between us.”

Peter nodded in understanding, “Your mom is looking for you.”

Wanda shook her head, “she’s not really my mom.”

Peter looked at her curiously, “She looks after you, and you call her mama, how is she not your mom?”

‘It’s complicated Peter,” responded Wanda in exasperation. 

“Doesn’t seem it,” replied Peter.

“Well you are just a kid,” stated Wanda in agitation.

“If I’m a kid so are you, we are the same age. You moan that the others treat you like a kid, but you treat me like one. How are you any better than them?”

Wanda stood shocked at his words. She was unsure what to say to that, but let his words replay in her mind a few times. 

Peter just shrugged at her, “come on let’s head back, Ms Potts was cooking dinner for us all.”

……………………………………………..

Wanda walked back towards the compound, and could see Natasha waiting for her in the doorway.

“Where have you been?”

“Just went for a walk to clear my head,” she replied succinctly. Natasha shepherded her into the building.

“Come with me, we need to talk.”

…………………………………….

Wanda followed the older woman through the facility after saying a quick goodbye to Peter. They headed into their living quarters, where they had a small living space between their rooms. Natasha sat on the sofa, and pulled Wanda down next to her. 

“What did you want to talk about?”

Natasha took a deep breath, “Tony.”

She watched the teenager’s face sour immediately at the name. “What about Stark?”

“I don’t think you are being fair to him sweetheart, you need to give him a chance. This bitterness is not healthy.” 

“Would you give the people that trained you in the red room a chance?” asked Wanda bravely. 

Natasha grimaced, “You can not compare them. I trust Tony, he is my family, which makes him your family. Your uncle now.”

“He is not my uncle.”

Natasha grabbed her arm gently, “he is your uncle, just like Clint is...”

Wanda shook her head and pulled her arm away, “You don’t have to like him Wanda, but you do need to be polite to him.”

“I think he shouldn’t speak to me and then I won’t speak to him. That would resolve any issues.”

“No it won’t,” replied Natasha. “This is not negotiable Wanda. Tony has done a lot for you, he has made mistakes but you need to give him a chance.”

Wanda crossed her arms against her chest in annoyance. “Especially as he is helping get me the paperwork to enrol you in school.”

“He’s doing what?” questioned Wanda in shock. Natasha was secretly impressed with herself and how she directed the conversation to the contentious school topic. 

“He’s getting your paperwork sorting. We are going to enrol you as Wanda Rushman to avoid any awkward questions.”

“Stop,” interrupted Wanda, “I am not enrolling anywhere….”

“We have had this conversation before Wanda, I told you I legally have an obligation to educate you,” explained Natasha softly. 

“Yes I understand that, but I can accomplish that without stepping foot in an American high school. I looked into it and I can do my GED,” responded Wanda.

“I would prefer you to go to school, you can go to the same school as Peter,” replied Natasha.

“Please Nat, I understand most of your decisions but I don’t get this one. I have nothing in common with American teenagers, and I can still get an education from here. Please.”

Natasha sighed, “Ok we can talk about it some more before we make a final decision. This is not me agreeing to the GED. I’m agreeing to discuss it further…” Her words were interrupted by Wanda hugging her tightly, in gratitude. She inhaled the scent from Wanda’s hair as she drew her into her body. 

“Thanks Mama…”

“One other thing how did you find out about the GED?” she asked gently. 

“Google,” was the one word answer she heard slightly muffled as Wanda hadn’t lifted her head up. 

Natasha sighed, “Can you please be careful on the internet? You can’t always trust what’s on there. If you have questions I would rather you come to me or one of the guys.”

“Ok I will,” Wanda replied. She glanced down slightly at her wrist band that was covering her last internet research result. That would be fine, she was sure Natasha just meant future questions not issues she had already resolved. 

“I mean it Wanda.”

“I’m not some naïve kid. I am street smart. I know how to use the internet,” she bit back slightly offended.

Natasha just raised her eyebrows at the teenage, and pulled her away from her body. “Firstly watch your tone, and secondly anyone can use the internet, but not everyone can check or understand the veracity of what is on there.”

Wanda interrupted angrily, “And what… I’m one of those stupid people.”

“Stop that Wanda, you are over-reacting. If you want to behave like a child, I will treat you like one. I can put parental blocks on your access, but I just wanted to have an adult conversation with you.” 

Wanda shrugged at her in annoyance, “Fine Nat.”

Natasha just sighed and walked away.

………………………………………….

Nat sat cross-legged on her bed, she held her phone firmly in the hand as she conversed with the Barton’s. They had been talking for a while, Nat found talking to them just centred her. The avengers were family but Laura and Clint were something more than that. 

“You are so soft,” joked Clint through the phone screen. 

“I am not,” disagreed Natasha. “I’m being reasonable.”

“No, you are whipped by that kid,” said Laura appearing on the small screen in her hand. 

“This most be a sign of the apocalypse you agreeing with Clint,” joked Natasha lightly.

Laura raised her eyebrows at one of her best friends, “All she has to do is look at you with those big doe eyes and you capitulate.”

Natasha sighed, “So you think I was wrong to not insist she go to school…”

Laura shook her head, “not at all, I think it is right to discuss it properly.”

“You are very confusing,” moaned Natasha at the woman. 

Laura laughed at her good-naturedly, “No, just make sure you make the decision at the end for the right reasons.” 

“yes Miyagi san,” joked Clint next to her. Laura playfully slapped the back of his head, “Why do all the woman in my life hit me??”

Laura rolled her eyes, “you guys coming to visit any time soon?”

Natasha looked sadly at the pair of them, “not for a while, I need to get Wanda into a routine, all the travelling won’t help with that.”

They both nodded in understanding, “We get it Nat, look we will let you run, don’t wait too long to call again!”

Nat waved at the pair of them as they disconnected the call. 

………………………………………………………….

Wanda lay in her bed that night, her mind would not let her rest. Dinner had been an awkward affair; she knew some of her hatred of Stark was somewhat irrational. It had been what kept her alive while she was being experimented on by Hydra. Revenge was her goal and now without that driving her she felt lost. She didn’t have a purpose, especially now she wasn’t even on active duty with the avengers. Wanda felt like a useless drain of resources. She was a cost, a burden. A useless waste of oxygen. She tried to burrow further into the duvet, her face felt wet from tears. 

Wanda sat up and pulled her knees into her chest, she rested her forehead on her knees. She shook slightly under her own strain. She knew who she needed and wanted, but she was struggling to reconcile her mind about that fact. Eventually she stood up, and tiptoed out of her room. She approached Natasha’s door, and stood outside it for several minutes. She lightly tapped on the door, hoping in part that she didn’t hear the noise. That would give her a viable excuse to go back to her room rather than worry about being rejected. Wanda’s heart sunk a bit when she heard the shuffling the other side of the door. Of course the black widow would be a light sleeper. 

The door opened, and a tired looking Natasha emerged from the darkness.

“Wanda?”

Wanda found herself stuttering slightly, “I’m sorry to disturb...”

Natasha cut her off when she glanced at her again, “have you been crying?” she took in the red face, blotchy and tear stained.

“No,” she lied abruptly. Natasha looked at her knowingly, “Come on sweetheart.”

She led the girl into her bedroom, and tucked her into the bed. “I’m sorry, I’m so pathetic,” she whimpered. 

Natasha just crawled into her bed next to the teenager. “You are not pathetic, and never be sorry about coming to me.”

Wanda shuffled up closer to the woman, resting her head on Natasha’s chest. As soon as she felt the arms wrap around her. Wanda felt her mind switch off. The thoughts stopped, she exhaled loudly in relief. She closed her eyes and fell into sleep. 

Wanda awoke the next morning, to Natasha running her fingers through her hair, “good morning.”

“Morning,” replied Wanda sleepily. “Rub my back.”

Natasha smirked at her, “demanding this morning aren’t you princess?” Natasha agreed to her request though, and starting running her fingers down her spine. 

“You going to tell me what upset you last night?”

Wanda shook her head. Natasha stopped her ministrations. “Wanda….”

The teenager grumbled, “Don’t stop…”

Natasha narrowed her eyes at her kid. “Wanda….”

“Fine,” Wanda sat up, her morning bed hair on display. She pulled away from the older woman and went to leave the bed. Natasha grabbed her wrist, “Where are you going?”

“Back to my room,” she replied sharply. 

Natasha shook her head, “No, I need you to answer my question.”

‘It’s not your concern,” answered Wanda. 

“Everything about you is my concern,” responded Natasha. Wanda glared at her, “I’m still entitled to privacy.”

Natasha tried to not let her frustration show, “Ok.” She gently pulled the girl back towards her and had her lay on her front across her knees. She started rubbing her back, trailing her hand up and down her spine. Wanda moved her arms up and laid her head on them as she relaxed into the touch. “Let’s have a lazy morning.”

Wanda nodded in agreement, “I’d like that.”

…………………………………………………………………………..

As the training continued to progress Natasha was running out of excuses to keep Wanda out of the field. She excelled in all the exercises and her powers just seemed to get stronger every day as she mastered and discovered new ways to evolve them. Vision especially had been a great help in challenging her. Wanda sat with Vision her hand was held over his forehead as she felt the power of the mind stone. 

“Vis?”

“Yes Wanda,” he replied rather formally.

“What do you know about the other stones?”

“Stones?” 

“The infinity stones, I mean you have the mind stone, but what about the others? Could other people have powers like mine?”

Vision looked at her curiously, “You and Pietro were the only ones to survive the experiments with the mind stone, I don’t think anyone else has been empowered by a stone.”

Wanda cringed at the mention of her twin, “What are the other stones?”

‘Power, Space, Reality, Soul, Time...”

Wanda cut him off, “Time? As in time travel? As in alter the past.”

Vision looked at her thoughtfully, “I suppose so.”

“Where is the time stone?”

“I believe it is held in the Sanctum,” replied Vision. His lack of an emotional intelligence meant he had no idea of the ramifications of his words to the teenager. 

Wanda felt the plans and thoughts rushing through her head, dominion over time. She could go back in time; she could save Pietro. Why had no-one thought to do this? Wanda leaned over and kissed Vision’s cheek in Gratitude, “Thanks Vis.”

Wanda excitedly ran through the facility searching for Peter. She rushed into the kitchen and saw Pepper sat there, “Aunty Pepper, have you seen Peter?”

“I think he’s in his room love,” she replied amused by the young behaviour of the witch, who took off in the other direction. “Thank you.” She heard being shouted back from the hallway. Pepper laughed to herself. 

Wanda went rushing into Peter’s room without knocking. Peter jumped up from the bed in shock sticking to the ceiling. “Wanda!”  
She entered the room and jumped onto the bed, waiting for Peter to drop back down from the ceiling. 

“Are you going to your Aunt May’s this weekend?”

Peter looked at her perplexed, “yeah I am?”

“Can I come with you?”

Peter looked at her confused, “what to Queens?”

“Yeah,” replied Wanda innocently. Peter looked at her suspiciously, “Why?”

“Maybe I just want to see New York with my favourite spider boy.”

Wanda almost felt guilty when she saw the smile that took over Peter’s face. “Yeah of course! It will be awesome; I can take you to the best pizza pie place in New York.”

Wanda zoned out as Peter kept stammering through about the different places they can visit, now she just needed to convince Natasha. 

…………………………………….

“I’m not sure…” stated Natasha nervously. “you didn’t do well at the mall.”

She was searching for any excuse to say no, but was struggling under the looks from the other avengers in the room. 

“I’ll be fine! I’ll be with Peter. It’s only a weekend.”

Pepper glanced over at Natasha and saw the conflict on her face. She spoke up, “We can ask Happy to trail them if it makes you feel better?”

Wanda soured at that, “we don’t need a minder.”

Natasha looked thoughtful, and nodded in gratitude to Pepper, “You can go as long as Happy doesn’t mind following you. I also want you to check in regularly.”

Wanda rolled her eyes slightly, “I survived being orphaned in a war torn country, I’m sure I can cope with a weekend in Manhattan.”

Natasha narrowed her eyes at the teenager. Wanda chose not to say anything else having taken in the expression of her guardian. Peter kept looking between the two of them, “does this mean she can go?”

Natasha reluctantly nodded, “yes she can go.”

Peter whooped and held his hand out for a high five which Wanda happily went along with even if the action felt a bit foreign to her.


	12. Concrete Jungle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't get used to an update every day! The lovely comments really inspired me. Especially Marvelobsessedgirl3 saying it was their favourite. But honestly it is lovely to read such wonderful comments. Thank you.

Wanda had to admit she did like New York. It was everything she shouldn’t like, Capitalist, consumerist and American. Meandering through the city without an actual goal or a place to be was surprisingly relaxing. Especially with the exuberant teenage tour guide she had showing her all the sights. 

They slowly walked through central park, Wanda had been rather underwhelmed by the John Lennon memorial. Calling it minimalist seemed to do a dis-service to the art movement. She lowered herself onto a bench in the park, reaching into her pocket she retrieved her cigarette carton. Peter looked at her in disapproval but said nothing as she let the stick in her mouth.

He let her take a few pulls on it before daring to ask the question on his mind, “So why did you really want to come with me?”

Wanda sighed, “I’m honestly really enjoying myself Peter…”

“but?” he questioned.

Wanda looked thoughtful, “I need to do some research.”

Peter’s interest was peaked, “What kind of research?”

“I need to stakeout a building, how do you feel about carrying out a time heist?”

Peter looked at her curiously and watched as she stubbed out the cigarette on the floor. 

“a time heist?” his interest clearly peaked. 

“Pete, what do you know about the infinity stones?”

……………………………………………………………….

Peter turned to Wanda, “You ready for this?”

Wanda nodded at him, before turning to a bin in the park. They glanced over to where Happy was standing, a distance from them but clearly watching them the whole time. She waved her hand and moved some paper into her hand, using her lighter she set fire to the paper and tossed it into the full bin. They watched as the flames licked up into the air. “Fire!” Peter screamed. 

Wanda watched as the panic ensured, as people ran in all directions. Some towards the fire, others away from it. Peter took the opportunity of Happy’s attention being taken away from them to quickly flee the scene.

“I can’t believe that actually worked…” gasped Wanda as she struggled to breath leaning against the wall of the building. They had sprinted what felt like 10 blocks. 

“Distractions always work,” replied Peter. “It’s the one thing every movie ever has ever taught me.”

“Thanks for helping me with this Pete,” gushed Wanda slightly.

Peter’s cheeks blushed under the praise, “come on let’s find this place.”

The building in front of them was ominous in design. Peter looked at the big doors, and instantly knew walking through the front door would not be an option. “I think the roof would be the best bet.”

Wanda nodded in agreement. She jumped on Peter’s back as he started to scale up the building. 

“So what are you going to do with this time stone?”

“Bring back Pietro,” she answered quickly. Peter stopped his climb, “The stone can do that?”

Wanda shrugged, “I don’t know, but I have to try.” Peter was clearly lost in a thought, but decided to continue the ascent. He jumped up onto the flat roof of the building. Wanda took the opportunity to set her feet on the roof, she could have just floated up but there was something reassuring about being carried by Peter. 

Wanda started to check out the roof, for any camera’s or surveillance equipment, “it seems clear.”

Peter nodded in agreement. “There seems to be an opening here.” He pushed open the vent and climbed in. “you coming Wanda?”

She nodded nervously before crawling into the cramped space. They dropped down into a big room. Wanda cringed at the loud noise they made as they hit the stone floor. They both stood perfectly still hoping their noisy entrance hadn’t altered anyone to their presence. Wanda’s phone vibrated loudly in her pocket, she rushed to silence it. Her Phone was lit up with several messages, all various degrees of threats from Natasha. All along the lines of get your teenage miscreant ass back to Happy now. Wanda cringed slightly, she knew their disappearing act would come back to bite them. 

Peter glanced at his own phone, which was equally angry at him, though he had his phone completely on silent. Wanda looked to him, “You getting the same as me?” she whispered. Peter nodded silently. She pointed at him and then pointed towards the other side of the room, indicating where they should go. They crept silently across the giant empty room. That’s when Wanda noticed and started gesticulating madly in one direction. Peter looked a her slightly bemused. There in the corner of the room sat a large wooden plinth, on top of it sat a green stone that seemed to almost be floating on it’s own accord. Filling the room with a green aura. 

Wanda rushed towards it, Peter reached out an arm to her, “Wait.”

Wanda looked at him confusion, “This doesn’t feel right.”

His spider sense was tingling, “it all seems to easy.”

Wanda just shrugged him off, “Maybe we are just avengers.” 

Rationale thought and logic temporarily escaped her as she focused on her prize, all she cared about in this moment was how close she was to her goal. 

She crept towards the stone and reached out a tentative hand and swiped it over the stone. She grabbed it firmly and pulled it away in triumph. 

Wanda turned to smirk back at Peter, but before she could finish the movement she was thrown back violently from the plinth. 

“Wanda!” shouted Peter as she collided heavily with the wall. He rushed over to her but was blinded by a bright light that seemed to be escaping her body. He threw him arm up to shield his eyes until the light dimmed out. Peter rushed over to the young witch but was shocked by the sight in front of him.

A woman appeared out from the shadows, “You should never try to steal time, not when we can so easily give it.”

Peter looked in shock between the woman and Wanda laying helpless on the floor. He rushed over to her, picking her up and cradling her in his arms. “What have you done to her?” shouted Peter to the woman.

“She did it to herself,” she replied in a matter of fact tone. “She will be back to normal in a few weeks and hopefully you will both think twice before trespassing here again.”

The woman waved her hand and the plinth disappeared in front of his eyes, “Did you really think we would leave a relic of such power out in the open?”

Peter growled at her slightly. “Now if I was you. I would grab your girlfriend and leave here now.”

Peter blushed at that slightly, but pulled the girl tighter into her body. “You can leave by the front door.”

He just scowled at her some, “Do you promise she will go back to normal?”

She nodded, “Though I can speak to your guardians if you would like. I’m sure they would like to know about all your activities.”

Peter swallowed nervously, “No I can tell.”

Wanda was starting to slowly wake in his arms. He was unsurprised when she started to whimper and cry slightly. Peter reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone. He hesitated for a second before pressing the dial button on Tony’s name.

“Mr Stark, we have a little problem.”  
……………………………………………………..

Tony and Natasha were already dropping the jet off at the tower, when he received the call from Parker.

‘She’s what??” he asked in complete shock, “Underoo, slow down. Where are you?”

Natasha looked at over at the older male in concern, “Where are they? Are they ok?”

Tony took a very deep breath, “Well the good news is I know where they are.”

………………………………..

Natasha rushed to the front door of the sanctum, Tony had refused to divulge whatever Peter had told him over the phone. She had even threatened his manhood several times to no effect. Natasha knocked loudly on the door, slightly out of breath as they had practically ran to the building. 

The door slowly opened and she was greeted by a woman in robes, “Ah you must be here for the children.”

Peter was stood in the hallway. Natasha looked at him funny, “Peter where’s Wanda? Why are you holding a toddler?”

At the voice the small child turned in his arms. Natasha recognised the face immediately. It was obviously smaller and chubbier than she remembered. “Wanda,” she whimpered. The child started squirming and fidgeting to be put down on the floor. Peter release the toddler, who immediately wandered over the the older woman, holding her arms up in expectation. 

Natasha went onto autopilot and lifted the child into her arms, resting the girl on her hip. 

Wanda rested her head on the woman’s shoulder and starting reaching to grab Natasha’s short hair. “Anyone want to explain why my sixteen-year-old is now a baby?”

Peter looked at her sheepishly, “it’s a long story….”

The woman piped up from around the corner, “it’s not. They tried to steal an ancient power from us. This is the consequence of that action.”

Natasha looked at the woman in anger, “You need to change her back!”

“It will wear off in a few weeks...” she replied flippantly. “now please leave.”

‘How can we trust you?” asked Tony.

‘I let you in to collect them,” she replied simply, before beckoning them both to the door. 

Natasha was still in a state of shock, Wanda soon broke her out of her malaise with a firm tug of her hair and a delighted giggle at the women’s pained shriek. 

……………………………………………..

The four of them were now sat in a diner grabbing some food before flying back to the complex. Wanda was perched happily on Peter’s lap munching at some chips from his plate. 

“So to summarise, you tried to steal a time artefact from a bunch of wizards who live in New York.”

Peter nodded, “yeah that’s about it.”

Tony raised his eyebrows at him, “not your finest moment Peter.”

Peter’s face fell at the criticism, “I’m sorry Mr Stark, Agent Romanoff, I thought I was helping her.”

Natasha narrowed her eyes at him, “it’s not Agent Romanoff to you.”

Peter gulped, “how should I address you?”

“Call me Aunty Nat,” she replied lightly. “We are practically family now anyway.”

Peter smiled in relief that the older woman had calmed down considerably. Wanda being a happy baby seemed to have help control her mood. Tony turned to the young witch covering both his eyes before moving them away and saying peek-a-boo. This always garnered a fantastic reaction from the toddler who giggled and reached out to grab the man. 

“Well Baby Wanda seems to like you a lot more than teenage Wanda,” joked Natasha. 

“What are we going to do with a baby?” she questioned weakly. 

Tony shrugged, “we will be fine, they say it takes a village to raise a child, and we have practically a tribe.”

Peter suddenly jumped up from his chair, picking up the baby from his lap. He looked horrified at the two adults, “I think we may need to stop at the shop.”

As he showed them the wet baby and his wet lap. Wanda just laughed and clapped her hands in amusement.

……………………………………

“How old do you think she is?” asked Tony curiously, glancing over to the sleeping baby. 

Natasha looked back at him tiredly, “Probably about 2, I would guess.”

They had finally got the baby to sleep on the plane. Peter was asleep next to her, effectively stopping her from falling off the chair. 

‘Have you called ahead?” questioned Nat.

“yep, though I don’t think they really believed me…”

“It is a bit crazy,” said Natasha lightly.

“She is going to be horrified when she is back to normal.”

“She is going to be mortified,” agreed Natasha. She walked over to the sleeping child, and gently pulled Wanda’s thumb out of her mouth, and replaced it with a pacifier she had recently purchased. They couldn’t resist buying iron man and captain America pacifiers. 

She happily accepted the replacement and snuggled further into Peter. 

Tony glanced back with a smile, “I’m allowed to take loads of photos right?”

“Not just allowed… it is actively encouraged.”

Tony picked up his phone and happily snapped a few candid photos of the pair sleeping.


	13. Little one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am actually overwhelmed by all the comments, hence the quick update! Though I do think you will be disappointed!

Natasha sighed heavily in frustration as she tried to soothe the unhappy child, “Come on Wanda please baby…”

She had discovered very early that Wanda was a nocturnal toddler much to her chagrin. She walked backwards and forwards bouncing her lightly in her arms, tapping her bum in the soothing fashion which was usually so effective. Natasha glanced at the clock on the wall seeing the 2am mocking her. Teenage and toddler Wanda both shared the inability to sleep at night. 

A light knocking on her door, disturbed her from her thoughts. A tired looking Steve was leaning against the doorway.

“I’m so sorry Steve, I just need to settle her down.”

Rogers reached behind his back and retrieved the bottle he had made. Natasha exhaled in relief, he gestured for her to hand over the baby. She willingly handing her over. Steve carried the toddler over to her bed, and cradled her lightly, holding the bottle to her lips. She accepted it eagerly and started chugging the warm liquid down.

“I am really sorry Steve; she just won’t sleep….”

Steve shook his head, “Don’t worry Nat.”

She looked forlornly at him, “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

“You aren’t doing anything wrong, Babies can be challenging,” he replied diplomatically. 

She watched as Wanda’s eyes were starting to close, as her drinking got slower, and she was more suckling the bottle. Once he was sure she had nodded off, he lowered her gently into the crib, that Tony had moved into her room. 

Steve smiled at the woman, “see, out cold.”

He turned to leave the room.

“Steve?”

“yeah Nat?”

“Would you stay please?”

“Of course.”

He returned to the bed, and lay down in the bed. Natasha just rested her head on his chest. She let the soothing sound of his heartbeat lull her to sleep. 

………………………

Natasha was awoken to the sound of happy babbling. Her eyes opened against her will. She slowly roused herself from her slumber. Natasha noticed in relief that Steve was still asleep. She slowly got to her feet, and lumbered over to to crib where Wanda was standing waiting for her. 

Natasha reached in and plucked the girl out of her confinement. She smiled and laughed in response. 

“Morning sweetheart.”

Wanda just babbled happily in response. She gently laid her on the bed, unbuttoning her onesie in order to change her. she seemed to enjoy the freedom kicking her chubby legs slightly. She opened up the front and blew raspberries on the delighted baby’s exposed stomach. This garnered even more giggles from the excited baby. 

“You are going to be so embarrassed about this when you are big again. Yes, you are,” Natasha said in playful tone, tapping the baby on the nose to emphasis the point. Wanda just went to grab her finger. Natasha continued her task quickly removing the old wet diaper, cleaning her up and replacing it with a clean one. 

“Yes you are,” she repeated again lightly, “maybe this will teach you to not steal from a crazy wizard cult.”

Wanda just looked at her clearly not understanding the words, but enjoying the jovial tone Natasha was using. “Let’s go get breakfast, and let poor Steve sleep hey?”

She carried the baby into the kitchen, but set her down on her feet as soon as they had crossed the room. Wanda toddled over delightedly towards Tony who was sat at the kitchen table. He reached down and picked up the excited girl. 

Natasha’s heart warmed at the sight, baby Wanda adored Tony. He started lifting her slowly up in the air before pretending to drop her much to the amusement of the child. She glanced over to Peter who was sat munching toast while watching the baby in bemusement. 

Tony turned excitedly to Natasha, “I need to show you what she did yesterday.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him in question, “Friday play Queen.”

Tony stood the child up on the kitchen table, as the music started to fill the room. Wanda stood still as she heard the opening notes, but then she started to dance. Well what a baby would call dancing. She kept squatting down her feet not moving but her legs bouncing, while she thrust her arms out to the rhythm. Natasha laughed, “please tell me you are recording this.”

“She has good taste,” joked Tony, “the 80’s was the best era.”

Steve walked into the kitchen heading straight for the coffee machine, smirking as he watched Wanda dance on the table. “Morning everyone.”

Natasha nodded in acknowledgement before turning back to Tony, “So you had a productive day with Wanda yesterday then?”

Tony looked a bit sheepish, “I’ve also discovered she loves chocolate.”

Natasha narrowed her eyes, “Tony you know she isn’t sleeping that won’t help.”

He just shrugged in response, “I’m the uncle I’m supposed to spoil.”

“Well then you can stay up with her all night.”

Tony snorted in response, “as if you would ever leave her for that long. That’s an empty threat Romanoff.”

Natasha knew that was true. Pepper glanced at Tony in concern, they were both worried about how attached Natasha was getting to baby Wanda. Pepper just wasn’t sure how to bring it up, “So how much longer do you think until our teenager returns?”

Peter shrugged at them, “The crazy wizard lady said a week, it’s been about five days already I think.”

Steve picked up Wanda from the table and set her back down on the floor. “I feel like I haven’t slept in a week.”

Natasha looked guiltily at him, “I am sorry Steve…”

“There is one way you can make it up to me,” asked Steve glancing away slightly. 

“Yeah what’s that?”

“Go for dinner with me.”

The whole room was stunned. There was genuine surprise that he would ask in front of everyone, they put it down to his sleep-altered mind. 

Natasha blushed slightly which was surprising in it self for the black widow. “Yes I will.”

Steve smiled warmly in response. Pepper piped up, “Go tonight we can watch Wanda.”

……………………………..

Wanda sat on the bed watching Natasha as she skirted around the room dressing herself for the evening. She had gone for the standard little black dress, unsure on where Steve was taking her. Wanda stood up unsteady on her feet on the soft bed and started to bounce slightly. 

“No jumping on the bed baby.”

Wanda scrunched her nose up at the adult, “I know you understand me little one.”

“Mama.”

Natasha sucked in air hearing a baby say that word made her glow. She went and picked up the toddler and cradled her into her body. She knew she was getting attached to the baby. The fact she couldn’t have her own children always affected her, and she had almost accepted that she would never have one. The closest she would get was a teenage refugee which she had been content with, but now she had an actual little girl calling her “Mama.”

She grabbed her purse and carried the baby out of the room. Heading into the communal living space, she passed the child over to Tony.

She then glared at him, “No Chocolate.”

“I know, I know,” said Tony sheepishly. “You look stunning by the way Romanoff.”

Pepper spoke up behind him, “Don’t worry Nat, I will make sure she is ok. Tony is right by the way you look beautiful. Go have a fun evening.”

“Ok,” said Natasha quite reluctantly, glancing back at the toddler who was currently trying to stick a finger up Tony’s nose. 

Pepper just ushered her from the room, “we will be fine Nat, relax.”

Steve met them in the corridor holding his arm out to her. Natasha smiled before taking his outstretched arm.

…………………………………….

Steve was the perfect gentleman, Natasha guessed it was due to his 1930’s upbringing. He topped up her wine from the bottle that was chilling. 

“You have surprised me Steve.”

“In what way?” he replied questionably. 

“Asking me out so blatantly,” she replied taking a sip of the wine, maintaining eye contact the entire time. 

“I thought I had missed my chance, you and Banner,” Steve realised his mistake as he watched Nat’s face fall. “I’m sorry Nat I didn’t mean to…” He stopped talking, kicking himself for making it awkward.

Natasha reached out and grabbed his hand on the table, “It’s ok Steve, you don’t have to worry about that stuff with me.”

Steve smiled back warmly and caressed her hand in his. “You do know I’m a package deal though right?”

Steve looked confused for a second before smirking in realisation, “Wanda, I already adore that kid.”

“Good,” replied Nat with a smile. She reached over the small table and captured his mouth in a chaste kiss. “Now how do you feel about splitting a dessert? I don’t mind sharing a spoon.”

Steve gulped nervously this woman was going to destroy him, “Sounds perfect.”

…………………………..

They walked back into the facility arm in arm, “Will you stay with us tonight? I’ll go grab the baby.”

Steve nodded, understanding that he was not being propositioned. Natasha headed further into the facility to find the Starks and the toddler. She was surprised to see Wanda snuggled into Tony fast asleep. “How have you managed that?” whispered Natasha.

“I’m magic,” joked Tony. He carefully stood up and passed the baby gingerly into Natasha’s arms. 

Natasha pulled her closer when she felt her stirring slightly, she shushed her and tapped her to ensure she stayed asleep.

“Thank you for having her.”

‘You don’t need to thank us, we loved having her. She is the happiest baby we have ever seen.”

Natasha nodded in agreement, “It makes you wonder what happened to her. Baby Wanda is fearless because she has nothing to fear. Teenage Wanda is fearless because she thought she had nothing else to lose.”

Her words resonated with the three adults in the room. “Tony have you had any luck digging up any of Wanda’s past?”

He shook his head, “Sorry Romanoff, even the internet has been cleaned.”

Pepper spoke up from the sofa, “have you asked her?”

“She’s a closed book,” replied Natasha. “I have to get her to open up, but she just won’t talk about it.”

“Have you thought about counselling?”

Tony snorted in derision, “you can deal with the temper tantrum that would occur after that suggestion.”

Pepper just shrugged, ‘Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do.”

“Anyway, I’m going to get this little one to bed.”

“Good night Nat.”

………………………..  
Natasha laid the toddler on the bed between her and Steve, having changed out of her dress. Steve turned to look at her, as she lay there lovingly staring at Wanda.

“You know she will be back to normal shortly.”

Natasha sighed, “I know. Is it wrong that I want her to stay a baby? She could grow up with us. No experiments, No hydra, No pain.”

Steve shook his head, “it’s not wrong Nat, but it’s also not possible. We can just try and give her, her best life.”

Natasha leaned over and kissed him gently, “You are adorable you know that?”

“I’ve heard rumours,” he joked. They both closed their eyes and let sleep overtake them. 

The next thing Steve felt was a little hand tugging at his eyelids, followed by some babbling involving the syllable “Da.”

He tentatively opened his eyes not surprised to see Wanda sat on his chest giggling away. “morning Sunshine.”

In response Wanda just spat out her pacifier into his face. “You think you are so funny.”

Natasha was sat up on her side watching the pair of them with the biggest smile on her face. Steve glanced at her in amusement, “Didn’t think to stop the little monkey from pawing at my eyes.”

She just shook her head in response, “If she’s doing it to you, she’s not doing it to me.”

“Thanks a bunch Romanoff.”

Natasha leaned up and pecked him on the lips causing Wanda to clap in excitement, and to try and emulate the action. The baby threw her arms around his neck gripping Steve tightly. Natasha picked up the discarded Pacifier and popped it back into her mouth. “Right we should probably change her…”

Steve raised an eyebrow at her, “We? That sounds like a you job.”

Natasha sighed, “you are probably right I don’t think Wanda would be able to look you in the eyes when she is back to normal. I think I’m just going to give her a bath anyway.”

Natasha stretched out and slowly stood up, before making her way into the en-suite to run the water. 

Steve turned his attention back to the giggling baby on his chest, when he was blinded by a bright white light that emitted from Wanda’s prone form. “Nat!”

The light dissipated, and Steve felt a heavier weight on his chest. Wanda pushed up hard from his chest in confusion, spitting out the pacifier in shock. 

She was trying to find the words to ask the myriad of questions that were running through her mind. Natasha came rushing back into the room, at Steve’s yell, and was bemused to see the now teenaged Wanda on top of Steve. She looked absolutely horrified, especially as she had now realised she wasn’t completely dressed. 

“Welcome back little one.” 

Wanda turned red with both of them looking at her, she jumped back off Steve and wrapped herself up in the duvet. 

“What happened?” she finally questioned. She turned to look at the bedside cabinet and noticed a newly printed framed photo. She reached over and grabbed it in shock. It was a photo of Natasha holding a baby that looked a lot like her. Wanda took some deep breaths finding the whole situation rather disorientating. She was feeling suddenly incredibly overwhelmed. 

Natasha rushed over and sat on the bed, she disentangled the girl from the duvet and pulled her gently into her lap, and then re-covered them both with the bedding. Wanda felt Natasha wipe away the tears on her face. She hadn’t even realised she was crying. “It’s ok calm down baby, you are just a bit shocked. Take some deep breaths.”

Once the girl relaxed into her touch, she decided to start posing questions. Steve was rubbing Wanda’s back in reassurance as well. “What’s the last thing you remember sweetheart?”

Wanda paused for a second, before bolting upright trying to escape Natasha’s grip, “Peter! Is Peter ok?”

Natasha pulled her back towards her firmly, “Peter is fine. You will see him soon.”

Wanda visibly relaxed back into her grasp, “we were at the Sanctum. That’s the last thing I remember, then everything is fuzzy.”

Natasha nodded, “You tripped their trap, and got turned into a toddler.”

Wanda picked up the pacifier that was laying prone on the bed, “well that explains that…”

Natasha smiled, “Yeah, we have all been looking after baby Wanda for the week.”

“A week?!!” 

Steve perked up, “yeah and you were a nocturnal baby,” he joked. 

“I’m sorry,” replied Wanda sheepishly. 

“Do you remember any of the last week?” asked Natasha.

Wanda screwed up her face, “I can’t remember any events but I have this feeling I can’t describe. I feel……”

She was struggling to come up with the words to describe it, Safe? Content? Comfortable? Loved?

Steve saved her from her thoughts, “Don’t worry about explaining it.”

Wanda turned to him, as if finally realising he was there, “What are you doing here? Did you and Nat?” 

“No,” answered Steve quickly. ‘I’ve been helping with you.”

Wanda looked between the two sheepish adults, “you two are blatantly fucking, or at the very least you want to…”

Natasha yanked the girls’ arm forward, placing one hard swat to her backside, at the same time Steve said “Language.”

Wanda hissed in response before turning back to Natasha and wrapped her arms around her neck, “Worth it.”

Natasha just smiled over her head to Steve and mouthed, “Teenagers.” He nodded in agreement. 

“Now come on you, I had just run you a bath.”

Wanda glanced down at the onesie she was wearing that had thankfully grown with her. She blushed in embarrassment. “I’m not moving until Steve leaves.”

“Wanda…. He knows what you are wearing…”

“It’s ok Nat, I’ll go start on breakfast.” He got out of the bed and left the room. 

Natasha gently pushed the girl out of her lap, “I’ll have a bath, but I’m not leaving this room today. Can I have my phone to call Peter please?” said Wanda trying to take back some control of the situation. 

Natasha just looked at her, “Yes you will have a bath, and you will come and have breakfast with us, so you will see Peter then.”

“I’m humiliated! They have all seen me as some pathetic child,” explained Wanda. 

“Well maybe that will teach you to not steal powerful artefacts.”

Wanda gulped slightly, “Take it you are mad at me….”

“I was furious,” stated Natasha, ‘but I do think them changing you into a baby is a better punishment than anything I could come up with. We will discuss it all properly later, but for now let’s give you some time to adjust.”

Natasha reached up and removed the girl’s thumb from her mouth. Wanda looked shocked as she hadn’t realised it had even gravitated there. “Seems that there might be a slight adjustment period?” explained Natasha gently. 

Wanda nodded and stood up, Natasha smiled and looked at her, “Please let me take a picture you look so cute in your Captain America Onesie!”

“No, I imagine you have taken enough photos!”

“There is never enough photos,” said Natasha with the biggest smirk. Wanda walked into the bathroom, and went to lock the door. 

“Don’t lock it, I’ll always knock before coming in, but I want to able to get in if you have a problem.”

“Mama, I can bathe by myself.”

“You have only just turned back, so forgive me for being cautious. I’ll give you your privacy don’t worry,” explained Natasha.

Wanda scrunched her face up in annoyance she hated when Natasha was logical it just irritated her.


	14. Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the comments. It is wonderful to get such a response for my little story, though I do wonder if you are sometimes reading a different story. I doubt I can maintain this update schedule for much longer but I will ride the wave while I can.

Wanda tentatively walked into the kitchen, not that she had much of a choice. Natasha’s hand was firmly in the small of her back guiding her to their destination. She gingerly took her seat grateful that no-one had said anything to her apart from “good morning.”

Wanda glanced around the table her eyes hesitating on Tony, the usual discomfort she felt at seeing him had abated. She could not understand it. She hated him. He was everything she hated about capitalism and America. He was ignorant, shallow, materialistic, but he was her family. Tony Stark loved her, supported her, gave her a place to stay. She could sense his nervousness around her. Wanda could also sense his disappointment that she was now a teenager again. She shyly looked down at her plate unable to look at him as the next words left her mouth, “Uncle Tony can you pass the toast please.”  
Tony’s eyes lit up in happiness, “of course.” Wanda lifted her own head up, in order to collect the offered plate. Natasha just smiled happily enjoying the stunned reaction of everyone else at the table. Wanda decided to interrupt the awkward silence, “So are we training today? I feel like I haven’t trained in weeks.”

Natasha shook her head, “not today, maybe tomorrow, you have only just turned back.”

Tony spoke up, “Why don’t you come work in the lab with me? You can help me test some of the new prototypes? I also need to introduce you to some music. I have a feeling you are going to love it.”

The others all smiled at the last bit, memories of Wanda dancing infiltrating their minds. Wanda oblivious just nodded, “I think I would like that.”

………………………………

“So who is this band?” questioned Wanda. As the loud music played throughout the lab.

“This is The Cure,” Tony answered happily. He continued to tinker away at the iron man gloves he was currently working on. He reached his palm out and Wanda passed him a different sized screwdriver. 

“I like them,” answered Wanda. She was tapping her foot lightly to the beat. Tony smiled at the action.

“You know they are still touring? I would be happy to take you.”

Wanda smiled, “you would do that.”

“Of course, you are my niece it’s my job to spoil you, and occasionally let you break the rules,” he whispered the last bit. Wanda laughed at him, “Like you would ever go against Mama, you are terrified of her.”

Tony winked at her conspiratorially, “only if she finds out.”

Wanda looked thoughtful as the song continued to play over the speaker, “Boys don’t cry, is that true.”

Tony turned to look at her, “They do that’s the point of the song.”

Wanda considered his words, “So it’s not weak to cry?”

Tony shook his head, “it makes you strong sometimes. You don’t want to be emotionally stunted like me. It’s taken me a long time to show my feelings. You are always better for it.”

Wanda looked over at the wistful expression on Tony’s face, “you look like you are reminiscing?”

Tony nodded, “Yeah this song reminds me of my college days, listening to music, snorting a lot of coke.”

Wanda looked at him curiously, “What’s coke?”

“Pure happiness in a white powder form,” he answered quickly, before remembering he was talking to an impressionable teenager, “I mean… it’s…Um…. shit… Can you pretend I didn’t say that?”

Wanda shook her head. Tony sighed, “I wasn’t a responsible adult at the one point in my life, so there was a point I did things I shouldn’t have.”

Wanda snorted in amusement, “Just be honest Uncle Tony. As much as I enjoyed that diplomatic response.”

“I got high as a kite,” he mumbled under his breath. “But Cocaine is bad.”

Wanda just laughed as his desperate need to cover himself, “I know that word, as in the drug? You did call it pure happiness, perhaps I should try it.”

Tony paled, “Romanoff is going to kill me! Don’t ever say that in front of her.”

“Calm down, this is hilarious,” giggled Wanda. “Don’t worry I’ll google it.”

“Don’t google it!” yelped Tony, “You are going to get me Tar’d and feathered!”

“I like how you are honest with me; you never sugar-coat anything,” answered Wanda with a hint of vulnerability in her voice.

Tony just smiled, “I’ll always be honest with you.”

Wanda nodded, “Thanks Uncle Tony.”

“Good, now pass me the spanner…”

……………………..

Natasha wondered into the Lab a few hours later, she watched the two of them interact for a few minutes enjoying the way Tony kept making the young witch laugh. 

“Are you distracting Tony from doing any work?”

Wanda looked at her sheepishly, “he distracts himself!”

“She has a point there Romanoff, I don’t need any assistance with that.”

“God you two are incorrigible, come on Wanda.”

Wanda looked at her curiously, “come on where? I’m fine with uncle Tony, he is teaching me about rock music, I’m teaching him about Chopin.”

Natasha smirked at them, “I have no doubt that Stark is teaching you lots of things. Nothing I would approve of I’m sure.”

“Moi?” questioned Tony a picture of innocence. 

“Yes you,” deadpanned Natasha. “Now come on Wanda you can come and play with Tony later,” she joked. 

Tony nodded in agreement, “Go on Sabrina, I’ll see you in a bit. I’ll get those tickets booked.” 

Natasha went to lead the teenager out of the room before turning back abruptly, “Wait? What tickets???”

…………………………………..

“So why exactly have you pulled me away from the Lab?” asked Wanda as she being led back to the living quarters. 

“Because you need a nap,” said Natasha in a matter of fact fashion.

“Excuse me?” asked Wanda incredulously. 

Natasha sighed, “You have aged 14 years in the space of ten seconds Wanda, you are going to be a bit exhausted. I can see it in your face.”

“Were you spying on Tony and I in the Lab?” questioned Wanda in annoyance. 

“Not spying. Monitoring. Don’t panic I wasn’t listening in.” 

‘I’m not a toddler anymore,” sassed Wanda. “I don’t need you checking up on me.”

“I will always check up on you,” explained Natasha with a slight smile. She sat her on the bed, and grabbed a make up removal wipe out of the drawer, and wiped away the heavy eyeliner Wanda had applied that morning. She guessed it was her attempt to look older. 

“Mama, I’m not tired…”

“You are very tired sweetheart, just have a quick power nap.”

“What if I say no?” asked Wanda.

“Little one, it’s funny you think that is a viable option for you,” Natasha replied with her knowing smirk. Natasha unbuttoned Wanda’s jeans and shimmied them gently off her, before pointing to the bed. Wanda sighed heavily but got into the bed, the realisation that Natasha was not going to let this go. Once she was situated, Natasha actioned the blinds, they soon electronically rolled down over the windows. Making the whole room darken. 

Natasha then leaned over and planted a kiss to Wanda’s forehead. “I’ll come back to wake you in a bit.”

“You won’t need to wake me; I’ll just be here laying wide awake!”

“We will see,” stated Natasha knowingly. She closed the door gently behind her, and wasn’t surprised when Friday informed her Wanda fell asleep less than ten minutes later. 

……………………………..

Wanda was annoyed when Natasha woke her up an hour and half later. She was mostly irritated with herself for falling asleep. Though Natasha did wake her up with a hot cup of coffee for which she was very grateful. She sipped the hot beverage before returning it to it’s coaster on the bedside table. Wanda turned to the older woman, “Please stop staring at me.”

“I can’t help it you are just too adorable.”

Wanda grimaced slightly, “When did you get this fluffy? What happened to the scary Black Widow?”

“Oh trust me I’m still that, as we still need to discuss your little outing in New York.”

Wanda flushed red in embarrassment, “I thought you said I had already been punished.”

“Doesn’t mean you get away without talking, I have a few questions for you,” stated Natasha firmly.   
“I’m going to start before New York. I need you to tell me about your past in Hydra. All of it Wanda. I mean it.”

Wanda shook her head quite violently, “That is my past and it is staying firmly in my past. I have no desire to revisit it or talk about it.”

“Wanda, I need to know…”

“No you don’t, you just want to know, there is a difference,” shot back Wanda in anger. 

“Little one, I’m worried about you. It’s because I care. If you don’t want to talk to me, how about Clint or if you want it to be someone outside of the Avengers. We can arrange for counselling.”

Wanda visibly paled at that, “I’m not talking to a shrink! There is nothing to talk about, nothing happened.”

“Ok well one of the above needs to happen Wanda, so let’s move on to you stealing…”

“I wasn’t going to steal it, I was just going to borrow it,” Wanda tried to argue. 

Natasha just raised her eyebrows, “Don’t make me change my mind about punishing you. So why did you want to ‘borrow’ it?”

“That is not your concern,” retorted Wanda sharply.

“You are my concern,” spat back Natasha in annoyance. She took a moment to calm herself realising she was letting the teenager rile her. “Why did you try and steal that stone?”

Wanda just crossed her arms against her chest in petulance. Natasha sighed heavily, “Fine Wanda, you are grounded so we are clear. You will always be in the company of an adult for the next week. You are not to even sneeze without permission, do you understand me?”

“Crystal clear,” replied Wanda her voice dripping in sarcasm. Natasha softened slightly, “Do you not trust me Wanda?”

Wanda stopped at those words, as for the first time she felt the emotion behind them. She looked up from her imposed petulance, and saw the hurt on Natasha’s face. The guilt coiled in her stomach.

“Nat... I do…” she whimpered slightly, “I’m just…private…”

Wanda wrapped her arms around Natasha’s neck burrowing herself into the older woman’s neck. Natasha just stoked her hair in response. She pulled away slowly and whispered the one word “Pietro.”

Natasha had to strain to hear it but then looked at her curiously, “Pietro?”

Wanda nodded, “I thought I could change his fate with the stone…”

Natasha sighed in relief at the truth, “Oh little one….” She wrapped the girl tighter into her arms, soothing her lightly with words and touch. 

……………………………………………..

Wanda finally pulled away from the embrace, feeling rather awkward about the whole situation. “I’m going to go grab a shower.”

Natasha shook her head at the teenager, “You don’t need a shower, you only had a bath this morning.”

She recognised it for what it truly was, an excuse to escape and hide. Wanda looked at her curiously, “I might not need one, but I’m going to have one.”

Natasha continued to shake her head, “No, you have two choices now. You can either go back and see Tony in the lab, or you can come and sit with me in the office while I do some paperwork.”

“I would like an option three.” 

“You heard your options,” replied Natasha firmly. She stood up and rummaged through the drawers and pulled out a skirt for Wanda to put on. 

“You are being unreasonable!” moaned Wanda indignantly. “I’m fine on my own.”

“You are also grounded,” explained Natasha. “I have already explained what that means. Trust me when I say you do not want to test me on this.”

Wanda sighed in exasperation and kicked the duvet off the bed. She yanked the skirt out of Natasha’s hand, and rushed to put it on. 

“Maybe you need another nap,” commented Natasha as she watched the moody teenager. 

“Maybe I do,” responded Wanda as she flopped back on the bed. Natasha knew this game well, “That’s fine, you can nap in the office with me. The couch is a pull out.”

Wanda wrinkled her face in annoyance, “I don’t need a nap.”

Natasha smirked at the irritated teenager, as she now stood up dressed. “Can I go see Tony again?”

“Of course you can.”

Natasha’s smirk didn’t drop the whole walk back to the lab. Natasha 1- Wanda 0. 

……………………………………………

Wanda sat next to Tony, and watched closely as he soldered the circuit board. “Done,” he exclaimed with relief. 

“Will you let me play with that?”

Tony looked at the witch and then back to the soldering iron, “Yeah one day.”

He rested the equipment on the side, and removed the safety googles from his head. Wanda sat there relaxed in his presence. “Why do you like working in the Lab so much?”

Tony paused for a second, “I like the distraction, and the challenge.”

Wanda nodded, “Yeah but sometimes you spend hours in here and forget everything else.”

Tony shook his head, “No sometimes I just get lost in here and lose track of time. That’s why it’s nice to have you in here with me.”

Wanda smiled at him, “Sometimes I want to escape to, can I come here then?”

Tony looked at her in surprise, “you are always welcome in here, but I will ask you don’t come in here unsupervised.”

Tony watched her face fall, “but I don’t care what time it is, just come and get me.”

“No it’s ok,” replied Wanda softly. Tony could have kicked himself, the teenager was starting to open up and now she had shut right down again. They both turned at the sound of someone entering the Lab. Steve Rogers poked his around the glass, “I’ve been instructed to tell you dinner is ready.”

Tony turned back to the teenager, “Come on Wands, better not keep the tribe waiting.”

Wanda went to stand up, but quickly grabbed Tony’s arm to steady herself as a dizzy spell overtook her. Tony pulled her into his body in reaction. “Wanda you ok?”

She took a few deep breathes, “Yes, I’m fine. Sorry just got a little spacey.”

Steve rushed over in concern, and placed a hand on her back. “You sure?”

Wanda tried to laugh it off, “yes I’m fine, obviously stood up to quickly.”

Tony and Steve shared concerned looks. Tony loosened his grip on the girl, who now seemed steadier on her feet. Steve wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and led her from the lab. Tony grabbed his phone out of his pocket, and quickly sent a message to Natasha. 

………………………………………….

Wanda walked slowly through the complex. She still felt a bit out of it. Her hands were cold and clammy, but she was determined to just walk through it. She was relieved when they made it to the dining room. She sat down at the table next to Peter who was already sat and helping himself to some Salad. He scooped some on to this plate, before holding the bowl out to Wanda. She took the bowl, and grabbed a solitary leaf of lettuce and a few tomatoes. Her stomach was churning. She honestly didn’t think she could stomach any food. Pepper was by the bar, pouring a few glasses of wine for the adults. Wanda glanced around the table noticing Natasha and Tony were conspicuously missing. Sam looked at her in bemusement, “That all you having Wands?”

She glanced down at her plate at his words, realising the pitiful amount she had put on her plate. “I’m not really that hungry.”

She felt a hand land on her shoulder from behind her, “you can definitely do better than that though.”

Natasha leaned over her from behind her and picked up the Lasagne dish, and spooned some of it onto the teenager’s plate. She passed the dish over to Steve who dished some on this own plate. Natasha then placed a kiss to Wanda’s head, before moving away to take her own seat. 

Pepper started passing the wine glasses out to the occupants of the table, and then handed two glasses of water to Peter and Wanda. 

“Dig in,” said Pepper reassuringly, as she went to take her own seat, “Don’t wait for me.”

Peter needed no further permission and quickly dug into his food. Wanda stayed quiet avoiding the chatter at the table, as she slowly moved the food around her plate, hoping that by moving it, it would look like she had eaten more than she had. Natasha kept watching her from the corner of her eye. The conversation at the table was generally quite light as everyone was just relaxing for the evening. 

“I have to say Pepper that was amazing,” exclaimed Steve with a smile. “That was even better than what my mother used to make.”

Sam nodded in agreement, “You have got a keeper, Tony.”

“Don’t I know it, and she puts up with me.”

Pepper blushed slightly under the praise, “Glad you all approved, it was nice to cook for a change.”

Steve looked over to Wanda who was still pushing the food around her plate, “Wanda can you eat some more please.”

Wanda dropped the fork slightly in shock, “Don’t talk to me like that.”

The table’s good mood quickly dissipated. Tony stood up and looked at Peter, “Hey Kiddo want to help me tidy up.” He grabbed a dish off the table, and when to move it over to the kitchen. Peter quickly followed suit. Pepper and Sam also picked up their plates and left quickly. Leaving Natasha, Steve and Wanda still sat the table. 

Wanda was surprised that Natasha had stayed quiet after her outburst. Steve spoke up again, “You haven’t eaten anything Wanda, you need to eat some of your dinner.”

“I don’t think my eating habits are any of your concern,” stated Wanda. She glanced over to Natasha trying to gauge her reaction, and was seemingly put off by her continued silence. 

“Well you aren’t leaving the table until you eat some more,” stated Steve firmly but tenderly. 

“You can’t do that!” exclaimed Wanda angrily. She turned to stare at Natasha. “Nat! Say something.”

“I agree with Steve,” she said simply. Wanda put some food onto her fork and ate it, before throwing the fork onto the plate. “There! you both happy now???!”

“You do need to eat more than that,” said Steve gently. Wanda didn’t understand what was going on or why she felt so emotional and out of control. Natasha after receiving Tony’s text suspected the teenager was feeling the effects of an age hangover. The emotional tiredness, the dizzy spell, the borderline temper tantrum over dinner. Neither her or Steve were quite sure how to deal with her at this point. Natasha stood up from her seat and went and sat down next to the over emotional teenager. “Just eat a bit more please little one.”

Wanda pouted in misery but slowly lifted the fork up to her mouth shaking slightly. Natasha grabbed her hand and helped her guide the fork slightly. This caused the girl to cry in response, “What’s wrong with me??”

“Nothing,” said Steve quickly. “You were a baby for a week Wanda, we thought it might take you a few days to feel like yourself again. Don’t panic.”

Natasha continued to help the teenager feed herself a few more bites of food until they were happy with the amount she had consumed. 

“Alright Malyshka come on I think it’s time for bed.” Wanda was shocked when Natasha picked her up. 

“Mama, put me down,” she mumbled under her breath, but she made no attempt to fight it. “Steve can you go get us a hot drink?” asked Natasha ignoring the girl in her arms. 

Steve nodded in understanding. Natasha carried the teenager to the living quarters. Wanda just rested her head on Natasha’s shoulder and wrapped her arms around her neck. She sat the teenager on the edge of the bed. Natasha looked at her in concern at the dazed expression on the girl’s face. “You with me little one?”

Wanda nodded slowly, “I’m sorry Mama, I don’t know what’s wrong.”

Natasha spoke up, “It’s ok Baby, don’t worry about it, Let’s get you ready for bed. Ok?”

“Ok,” Wanda replied softly. Natasha pulled off her shoes first, “Ok little one, arms up.”

Wanda put her arms in the air as Natasha pulled her sweater off. Wanda was surprised that she was submitting to the instructions but her mind felt so fuzzy. The next moment she focused she realised she had been changed into pyjamas. She turned her head when she heard a faint knock at the door. 

“Come in,” said Natasha.

Steve walked in holding a mug. He passed it over to Natasha who held it out to Wanda. Wanda sniffed it gingerly, “what is it?”

“Just warm milk,” explained Steve. Wanda took an experimental sip before taking a larger gulp, she found the liquid oddly soothing. Natasha stroked her hair as she drank the solution. She then plucked the mug from her hands, as she noticed the teenager was starting to droop and relax further into her body in tiredness. Natasha carefully manoeuvred the exhausted teenager into the bed.

“Will I be normal again soon?” 

“You are normal Wanda; you are just feeling the effects a bit. You will wake up tomorrow your usual sarcastic self I promise,” explained Natasha with a warm smile. 

“Promise?”

“I Promise,” said Natasha smirking. She stood up to leave the room. 

“Will you stay? Both of you?”

Steve and Natasha looked at each other, “Of course.”


	15. Teenage Kicks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not overly happy with this. Any comments are appreciated! Warning does contain drug use.

The days bled into weeks and into months. A certain monotony had filled their lives as they carried out their day to day business. Wanda found the routine oddly comforting; training, school work, family dinners and the occasional mission. She was still surprised Natasha even allowed the odd mission, she was so overprotective it bordered on obsessive. Wanda had gotten used to it now, and knew it was easier for everyone if she just accepted it. Natasha and Steve had gone from strength to strength, he had practically moved in with them. Wanda didn’t really mind, he was a gentleman and he never seemed to mind when Wanda slipped into the bed with them. 

She was also happy that she had won the school argument. Natasha had conceded to letting her do the GED rather than attend an actual school. It allowed her to go at her own pace, though there was some pushing by Natasha and Tony to make sure she didn’t rest on her laurels. Wanda was keen to point out to them that unlike her American counterparts she was actually a polyglot. As far as she was concerned the European education system was significantly better. Tony disagreed with her on this point and they had many arguments about the fact. Wanda just said he was rich so his education didn’t count as a comparison. 

Natasha always ended up laughing whenever Wanda and Tony got into one of their discussions, but generally stayed out of it. Peter and Wanda had gotten closer, as had Wanda and Vision. Natasha was less happy about that development. Though she knew technically speaking Wanda was older than Vision, their relationship still made her uncomfortable. Wanda assured her they were just friends but she saw the lingering glances they both made at each other. As far as Natasha was concerned she was her little girl, and no man or android would ever be good enough for her. 

……………………………………………..

“Hey Sabrina, you ready for this gig?”

Wanda was stood in the bathroom applying the last of her eyeliner to her face, “two minutes, Uncle Tony.”

“Come on, Pete and I are ready.”

Wanda scoffed through the door, “be patient old man.”

Tony turned to Natasha who was stood in the hallway with them, “She is sounding more like you every day you know that.”

Natasha smirked at him, “I know isn’t it great?”

“Great is not the word I would use,” muttered Tony. 

Wanda walked out of the bathroom, to meet the congregation in the hallway. Natasha gave her a quick hug, “Behave for Tony ok?”

Steve walked in to see her off as well, “you look beautiful kid.”

“Thanks Steve,” replied Wanda shyly. “I always behave Mama.”

Natasha snorted at that. “We will be fine Romanoff, It’s a Cure gig. It will be filled with white middle age men.”

They watched them off as Tony, Peter and Wanda got into one of their cars to drive to the gig. 

Steve turned to Natasha with a smile, “I wouldn’t worry Peter has gone with them, so at least one of them might be responsible.”

Natasha just glared at him, “What were we thinking letting Stark take our kid out?”

Steve always liked it when Natasha referred to Wanda as their kid, “they will be fine Nat.”

…………………………………..

Tony was stood waiting by the vendor, he realised he had gone over the top with the merchandise. He was holding at least five bags, filled with T-shirts, Key-rings, mugs and hoodies. He really needed to learn to say no, but as he was watched the two teenagers laughing and giggling to each other he knew it was worth it. 

“Come on Guys, we are going to be late for the show.”

Wanda turned back to him, “I’m just going to the toilet first.”

Tony sighed in exasperation, “I swear you live in there!”

Wanda just smirked at the older man as she headed off in the direction of the facilities. The toilet was oddly quiet for such a busy venue. She headed to the cubicles and noticed some rather stocky legs in one of the cubicles. She coughed out loud, “I think this is the women’s bathroom.”

The door opened and the man stood there looking less bemused, “funny.”

He handed the small white baggy over to her, as she passed the money over to him. “Thanks for doing business.”

“I can’t believe you had me meet you here,” joked the man. Wanda rolled her eyes, “I live with the Avengers do you really think I had any other choice?”

He snorted, “Who would have thought one of the Avengers doing Coke.”

Wanda scrunched her nose up at him, “I haven’t done it yet, I just want to try it. I mean who wouldn’t want to try something described as ‘happiness in powder form.’”

The man found himself oddly liking the teenager but he still felt the need to cover himself, “If you get caught you don’t know me.”

Wanda nodded, “I know Mike, I already cleared my browser history and I made sure that no-one could see our conversations.”

Wanda went to leave, “wait don’t you want to test it? You are far too trusting.”

Wanda turned back to the middle aged man, “I mean I can’t take it now. I’m with my uncle and cousin.”

Mike just laughed at her, “Just rub a little but into you gum, if it goes a bit numb then you generally know it’s cocaine.”

Wanda put an experimental little finger in the bag, and the dabbed it gently in her mouth. 

“You need to rub it in a bit,” explained Mike. Wanda followed the instruction, “I see what you mean.”

“See not all drug dealers are assholes some of us just have kids to put through college.”

Wanda nodded at him, “Thanks for your help Mike.”

“You are welcome Wanda. Enjoy the show, though it would be a lot better if you were taking that now.”

Wanda shook her head, “can’t risk that.”

She stuffed the small one-gram bag into her pocket, she waved her hand over the bathroom as she left, removing the out of order sign. 

She hurried over to her male counterparts, “God you took ages,” moaned Peter.

Wanda just shrugged, “there’s always a line.” She smiled at her own joke knowing the other two were oblivious to the double meaning. 

………………………………………………….

“That was amazing Uncle Tony, how can they still be so good live?” Wanda asked excitedly. Peter nodded in agreement, “I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as you I did.”

“Now you both know to always listen to me.”

The two teens rolled their eyes at they headed back to the car. “You are such an egotist.”

“Justified egotist,” replied Tony. 

Wanda stayed quiet and got lost in her own thoughts. The small packed weighed heavily in her pocket, she was equal parts curious and excited. The internet had provided her with a plethora of information. The unfiltered access was addictive to the teenager. She found herself staying up till the early hours of the morning; surfing, reading, absorbing the data in extraordinary quantities. Wanda found herself getting obsessed with concepts of happiness, authenticity and Morality. Understanding right vs wrong, the place of religion. She had grown up in a world, where deviation from the norm was considered a crime. Now she had a resource that could provide all the answers and even more questions. 

She wanted to experience everything. Wanda also didn’t think Natasha would approve, so decided discretion was the better option. Natasha couldn’t say no if she didn’t know about it. Wanda knew she was playing with fire, but sometimes you had to risk getting burnt. 

She didn’t like talking to a real person, anonymous forums gave her the help she craved without having to say anything out loud. Wanda rubbed her wrist unconsciously, it was blemish free at the moment. She knew she would eventually crack and need the release again, but she also discovered she could flick it against her stomach, and tops of her legs. This was significantly easier to hide. The forums were great for advice like that. 

“Everything ok back there Sabrina?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” replied Wanda with a smile.

“Anyone fancy Waffles?”

This was how the three of them ended up in a 24-hour diner, which a massive plate of Waffles, fresh cream and chocolate. It is also how Peter ended up with whipped cream up his nose, and a few well timed selfies that were sent to Natasha and Steve.

…………………….

Natasha smirked as she flicked through the photos on her phone as she snuggled into Steve’s side. “The kids seem to be having fun.”

She paused on the photo of Tony with chocolate dropping down his chin. “The big kid seems to be having the most fun.”

Steve smirked looking over her shoulder at the picture. Natasha looked at Steve, “I wish I was more fun.”

“You are lots of fun,” purred Steve. Nat looked at him in contempt, “not in that way Rogers, clean your mind.”

“We can’t all be Tony,” replied Steve, “We get to be the responsible adults.”

Natasha nodded, “but we really should use this opportunity. It’s not often that we know Wanda is not going to interrupt us.”

She started placing kisses along his jawline. “I like that idea.”

He lifted her up in her arms and carried her to the bedroom. 

………………………………….

Steve was awoken a few hours later by his phone vibrating he glanced at his clock and saw the time was 2am. “Hey Steve. Can you come meet me at the car I can only carry one sleeping teenager at once.”

Steve nodded, then realised that Tony couldn’t see him through the phone, “Yeah.”

He hung up, he grabbed a pair of shorts and a top and then walked out the room. Steve made quick time to the garage. Tony was already outside the car, his phone pointing in as he snapped photos of the two teens snuggled together like puppies. Steve reached in and bundled the teenager into his arms. Tony then grabbed Peter in the same way. 

“They had fun then?” asked Steve quietly. 

“I believe so.” 

Steve carried the teenager to her room, undid her shoes and then laid her dressed on the bed. He didn’t think she would approve of him changing her, especially in her sleepy state. He placed a kiss to her forehead, before leaving the room. He left her door slightly ajar and the hallway light on in case she woke up confused. 

…………………………………..

Wanda woke up about an hour later, surprised to be fully dressed on her bed. She quickly got changed into her Pyjamas, and deposited her little bag in her bedside table. She grabbed a pair of socks and secreted the bag into the bundle. Confident with her espionage skills, and happy it would go undetected. She left the room and quickly tiptoed across the landing. Wanda opened the door to her parent’s bedroom and snuck in. She smiled at their sleeping forms. Wanda climbed in between them, and pulled an arm from each of them around her. She soon drifted off to sleep content between them. 

Natasha was not surprised when she woke up to Wanda next to her. The teenager had a habit of coming into their room when she woke up in the night. She didn’t mind this; it wasn’t every night but she suspected it was because Wanda had spent the evening without her. She pulled into the teenager into her body, the movement woke the girl up.

“Morning,” Wanda mumbled. 

“Morning sweetheart, did you have fun last night?”

Wanda nodded happily, “Yeah.” She snuggled closed into the older woman. 

“I’m glad,” she said with a kiss to Wanda’s forehead. 

“Mama?” questioned Wanda. Natasha turned her attention to the teenager. 

‘I love you,” said Wanda. Natasha’s heart melted, “I love you too Malyshka.”

Wanda slowly extracted herself from Natasha’s arms. “I’m going to go to the gym. I need to run off all those waffles from last night.”

Natasha laughed, “I don’t think you have anything to worry about, but go on.” Once Wanda had left she turned and snuggled into Steve’s body and drifted back off into the sleep. 

Sunday morning were always the best day for working out. The gym was always empty. She wrapped her hands and started punching the bag in front of her. Wanda always found it incredibly therapeutic, the sound, the movement, the sensation of her fist impacting the leather. 

“What did the bag do to you?”

Wanda turned her head and smiled at the voice, “You are up early spider boy.”

Peter walked over and grabbed the bag firmly, “It’s spiderman, you know.” He emphasised the man part in his speech. 

Wanda snorted, “you keep telling yourself that.”

“One day you will be nice to me Maximoff.”

“I’m always nice to you Parker.” The pair smirked at each other, they were so relaxed in each others company. “What are your plans today?”

Peter shrugged at the question, “lazy Sunday I guess…”

Wanda looked at him with devious eyes, “Do you want to help with a science experiment?”

Peter’s interest peaked at that, “What sort of experiment?”

……………………………………………………

Peter looked nervously over at Wanda, “I don’t think this is a good idea Wands.”

She shook her head at him, “you worry too much Peter. It won’t kill me.”

They were stood in the forest about a mile from the compound. Wanda had just removed her shoes and was feeling the familiar comfort of wet grass between her toes. 

“What if something goes wrong?” asked Peter cautiously. Wanda sighed at the other teenager, “I have researched it Peter, stop worrying…”

She opened her backpack and pulled out a small Bluetooth speaker, and connected her phone to it. 

“What’s with the music?” questioned Peter.  
Wanda shrugged, “I just wanted to create the right ambiance.”

“Wanda, why don’t we do this a different day?”

“Peter,” snapped Wanda in annoyance, “it’s going to be fine just relax.” She reached into the bag and pulled out the bottle of vodka she had smuggled out of the building. “here take a swig of that it will settle your nerves.”

Peter caught the bottle that was aimed at him, but rested it back onto the floor. “No thanks, I think I need to be clear to watch you.”

Wanda rolled her eyes at him, “you really do worry too much.”

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the small white bag. She grabbed a small square mirror out of her bag and started to tip some of the contents onto the reflective surface. Wanda went into her back pocket and pulled out the bank card she had “borrowed” from Natasha. She started lightly chopping the substance into smaller amounts, and lining it up into small trails of powder. 

“Wanda, I really, really don’t think this is a good idea.”

“it’s just an experiment Peter, stop fussing,” explained Wanda simply. She grabbed the dollar bill from her pocket and wrapped it into a tube. 

“How do you even know how to do this?”

Wanda shrugged, “Youtube.” She answered simply, she skipped the track on her phone, until something with more of a beat came over the speaker. Wanda took a deep breath to study herself, and then leaned down and snorted up a small amount of the powder. She sniffled and wiped at her nose in shock at the burn she felt in her nostril. Wanda took a moment, before deciding she didn’t feel markedly different. 

“That’s underwhelming,” stated Wanda in disappointment. Peter exhaled in relief, “Maybe we should call it a day then.”

Wanda shook her head, “No, I probably just need a bit more.”

She reached down and snorted the second line up, she sniffled some more, and felt her nose running slightly. It took a few minutes but then she felt the buzz starting to settle over her. It felt like a warm blanket that was wrapping around her. She sighed in contentment, as she felt her heart rate elevate. Wanda took a deep breath, as she felt her pupils widen, and her head spin. She looked down at her hand and saw red tendrils of power flicking away from her arms. “Wow…” she whispered. She glanced back at Peter before smirking. Wanda pushed down on her knees and sent herself flying up into the air. She felt her power pushing her up higher than she had ever been before. Wanda soared into the sky, she threw her arms up into the air, as she plummeted back towards the ground. Peter’s voice stuck in his throat as he watched in alarm as she freefell from such a height. She twisted in the air, red light firing off her in all directions. Wanda landed on the floor on her knees, gasping for air. Laughing out loud almost manically. Peter rushed over to her, “you ok Wanda?”

“I’m amazing Peter, this is amazing. I’ve never felt so alive.”

She grabbed his hand and pulled it against her chest, “Can you feel that?”

Peter fell to his knees beside her as he felt her heart racing on his hand. He wasn’t even worried that he was technically touching her breast such was his fear. “Maybe you should sit down Wanda.”

She laid back onto to the ground, the red tendrils still escaping her body. Wanda closed her eyes and relaxed into the grass. 

“Wanda please wake up!” shouted Peter.

Wanda slowly came too, she groaned slightly, “Well that was an experience. How long was I out for?”

Peter gasped in relief as the witch sat up, “You were out for 10 minutes. I nearly went and got help. I mean, I didn’t know what to do, I’m glad the experiment is finished.” He babbled in his usual peter fashion. 

Wanda looked at him perplexed, “yeah that’s the first one over, but there is so much more to discover. Isn’t it exciting!”

Peter looked at her fearfully, “Wanda that was scary, I really don’t think you should do this again.”

Wanda narrowed her eyes, “I thought you would be cool about this Peter, but you don’t have to be involved if you don’t want to be.”

Peter stuttered slightly, “please Wanda.”

She raised her eyebrow at him, “I want you to promise me you won’t tell anyone about this.”

Peter looked at her in concern, “Wanda…”

‘I mean it Peter,” she barked. 

“Fine I promise,” he muttered. Wanda looked at him seemingly reassured about his silence. “Now come on why don’t we head back to the compound. I know where Tony hides the good ice cream.”

……………………………………  
Peter took a deep breath as he stood outside the office door. He tentatively knocked on the door, he heard the feminine voice beckon him into the room. He entered quickly and closed the door firmly behind him.

Natasha looked up at him from the desk, “You ok Pete?”

Peter shook his head, as he felt the tears well in his eyes. Alarmed Natasha stood up abruptly, “Peter what’s wrong??”

“She is never going to forgive me for this.”

Natasha walked over to the teen and wrapped him into a hug, “Peter talk to me. Do you need me to get Tony or Pepper?”

He shook his head sadly, “Aunty Nat it’s about Wanda……”


	16. Consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was quite difficult to write. I can't believe I have over 100 comments. I fully expected one person, if I was lucky to be reading this. 
> 
> So thank you all for your kind comments.

Natasha could not remember ever being this angry. She stomped through the compound, as Peter trailed behind her. Her mind was racing, what in the world was her kid thinking? Why would she do it. She thought she was getting somewhere with the teenager, and this felt like a sucker punch, “Aunty Nat!” Yelled Peter, trying to get the older woman to slow down or at least calm down slightly.

Natasha furiously went storming into the lab. She located her target and shoved him hard in his seat. 

“Ouch Romanoff what was that for?”

Tony turned to face the Black Widow and took in the expression on her face. He instantly abandoned the joke he had on the tip of his tongue. Tony glanced over at the stricken expression on Peter’s face. “Pete, can you go grab Pepper please and ask her to meet us here.”

“Get Steve as well please,” said Natasha her tone gentler than her face conveyed as she spoke to the kid. “Just grab them and go chill in your room. You did the right thing Peter.”

Peter hesitated but left the room once his mentor nodded that he was going to be ok. Natasha narrowed her eyes at Tony, “you going to explain to me why you are currently trying to eviscerate me with your eyes?” he asked. 

“I am absolutely livid with you Tony; I want to know what in the hell you were thinking!”

Pepper rushed into the room followed by Steve, “What’s going on in here?”

Tony turned innocently to Pepper, “I have no idea, I just asked for you so there was a witness to Romanoff trying to kill me.”

“What did you do?” deadpanned Pepper, crossing her arms at her boyfriend. Natasha swallowed air in an attempt to calm her shaking arms. Steve approached her and gently put his arms around her waist, she leaned back into his arms, and visibly relaxed in his hold.   
“Wanda got cocaine.”

Tony paled, and Pepper just looked at her in shock, “What? Why would she do that?”

Natasha glared at Tony, “Because someone told her that Cocaine was like happiness.”

Pepper turned on Tony in annoyance, “You told a teenage girl what?!”

“In my defence, I was just making a joke, I didn’t think she would take me literally.”

“You can’t joke like that Tony,” chided Pepper. “She is such an impressionable kid.”

Tony looked at the two women he had disappointed, “I am truly sorry Natasha. I didn’t think. I was just being well…me…”

Natasha sighed, Tony actually calling her Natasha rather than one of his stupid nicknames or her surname evidenced his sincerity. She ran a hand through her hair, “it’s not all on you Tony. Wanda made the decision to get some and do it. Peter told me she has apparently been researching it for a while…”

Steve spoke up from behind her, “what do we do now?”

“We go speak to our kid…”

………………………………………………………………….

Wanda lay on her bed, happily turning the pages of her book. A Sunday evening reading a book for her was the perfect end to her day. Today could not have gone better for her. She closed her eyes as she thought back to that feeling. The rush was exhilarating; she could see how people got addicted to that sensation. Tony was right if felt like happiness, or what Wanda thought happiness would be. Her thoughts were displaced by the sound of a knock at her door. She stood up, placing her book carefully on the side and opened the door.

Natasha and Steve were both stood on the other side. She glanced at the pair of them slightly confused by both of their presences. Usually only one of them came to get her. “Hey guys. Is it dinner already?”

Natasha brushed past her into the room, and started opening her drawers and rooting through them. Steve just closed the door behind them, and then stood blocking the exit. 

“Mama what are you doing?” questioned Wanda in bemusement. 

“Where is it?” asked Natasha calmly, but there was steely resolve to her tone. 

“Where’s what?” asked Wanda in confusion.

“Don’t play dumb with me Wanda, you know what I’m talking about.”

“I really don’t Nat,” explained Wanda crossing her arms across her chest in annoyance, emphasised by the fact she used her given name. 

“Where is the rest of the cocaine?”

Wanda’s jaw dropped, and her mouth opened as she struggled to form the words. “The what?” she stuttered. 

Natasha turned back to the girl, she stopped her searching through the drawers to give the teenager her full attention. “Do not lie to me right now Wanda. You are in an absolute world of trouble it’s in your best interest to comply with everything I say right now.”

Wanda looked at her gingerly, as if considering her options. Handing over the drugs would be admitting she had them, though Natasha had named the drug, so she clearly already knew about it. After hesitating for about thirty seconds which seemed considerably longer to the people in the room. Wanda finally approached her underwear drawer and pulled out the remains of the drug she had and put it into Natasha’s hand, avoiding eye contact with the older woman. 

“Wanda you want to explain this to me.”

She just shrugged petulantly at her, “I just wanted to try it, don’t make a big deal out of it.”

Natasha handed the bag to Steve, “Can you get rid of this?”

Steve nodded at the woman, before looking over to Wanda sadly, “I’m really disappointed.”

Those words felt like a hammer blow to Wanda’s chest. She gasped and sat down onto the bed. Natasha waited for Steve to leave the room, before sitting down next to the saddened teenager. 

“What ever possessed you to do this Wanda?”

“I thought it would help,” explained Wanda weakly. “I thought it would help me understand my mind, my powers, my life.”

“All drugs are artificial Wanda; they just replicate they don’t create anything genuine. It’s all fake. Why didn’t you talk to me Wanda?”

“I couldn’t, you are so confident, so empowered. You always know what you are doing, saying, feeling.”

Natasha laughed out loud, “are you kidding me? I used to be a train wreck.”

Wanda looked at her startled, “What?”

“Wanda, I was a KGB assassin, trained to be a killer from a child. I needed a great support network to get where I am now. It didn’t happen over night.”

“It felt good though,” stated Wanda sadly. “I mean the drugs felt good. I felt free. Alive. I forgot about everything else.”

“It might have this time,” said Natasha calmly, “but it’s never the same the second, third, fourth or fifth time. You end up chasing that first time, and it takes more and more to get anywhere near that level. Tony would have explained this had he realised how seriously you had taken his words. It’s like putting a plaster on a gaping wound. Eventually you will bleed out.”

Natasha was trying desperately to make the teenage understand her words. 

Wanda looked at the woman, “are you disappointed as well?”

Natasha looked at the sad heartbroken eyes in front of her and knew she couldn’t lie, “I am Wanda, you should have come and spoke to me about this. You knew buying drugs was wrong otherwise you wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to hide it.”

Wanda looked down at her feet. Steve walked back into the room and sat down on the other side of Wanda. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder in reassurance. “I’m sorry Steve. I’m sorry Mama.”

Natasha placed a kiss to her forehead. She steeled herself for what she knew she needed to do next, “Wanda go get your hairbrush.”

Steve released his grip on the girl at those words, she turned to face Natasha, “Mama no…. You can’t mean that.”

“I warned you months ago, I clearly made a mistake not punishing you after the stone incident. I’ve let you get away with things for too long, and it’s only going to end with you hurting yourself.”

Wanda shook her head in disagreement, “Mama, I said I’m sorry!”

“Saying sorry doesn’t fix it you still need to face the consequences of your actions. I think on some level you knew what would happen when I found out. I don’t know if this was just one big test. I want you to remember this moment the next time you even think about doing something like this.”

“Technically you never expressly told me to not buy cocaine,” she muttered under her breath. Natasha’s eyes narrowed in fury, “I would think very, very carefully about the next words you say Wanda Maximoff.” She heavily emphasised the very’s as she stared down her charge. “I am also putting parental controls on your internet access, you have proven you can’t be trusted with it.”

Wanda stood up in anger, “You can’t do that.”

“You had fair warning Wanda,” exclaimed Natasha firmly.

“But I need it,” said Wanda the desperation showing in her voice. 

“Why do you need it?” asked Natasha curiously. “I’m not taking it away, Steve and I are just going to monitor and control the content.”

“You aren’t listening to me. I need it! I can’t cope without it,” she practically shouted the last few words. Natasha was shocked by the reaction; she had expected righteous indignation from the teenager but not this overly emotional reaction. 

Steve broke the silence, “What do you mean you can’t cope without it? What are you doing online?”

Wanda shook her head furiously, “that’s not your business.” 

Natasha reached out her hand, “get me your phone now please.”

Wanda glared at her, “No.”

“It wasn’t a request; I’m telling you to give me your phone.” Wanda reached into the pocket of her sweatpants and liberated the device from it’s confines. She slapped it aggressively into Natasha’s hand. Natasha unlocked the phone, and started sifting through the phone’s history. She raised an eyebrow at the teenager, “You clear the history every day?”

Wanda just smirked at her smugly. 

Natasha sighed, her agitation getting the best of her, “You won’t be feeling so smug in a minute little girl.”

The threat made the smile drop from Wanda’s face instantly. “Wanda, why won’t you talk to us?” questioned Steve.

“What if you decide I’m just too damaged and fucked up,” she whimpered finally letting her vulnerability show through.

“We would never think that,” cajoled Natasha softly. “I don’t care, I told you already you are stuck with me for life. You are my kid.”

Wanda smiled weakly at the woman, and lowered herself into her lap, wrapping her arms around her neck. Natasha started rubbing her back, as Wanda relaxed into her grip. “You can tell me anything…”

Wanda nodded, “Steve would you mind if I talk to Mama alone.” She was so nervous asking the question, afraid to upset the super soldier she had grown incredibly found of. 

“Of course not,” replied Steve warmly. He placed a kiss on Wanda’s head, before placing a single kiss on Natasha’s lips.

Once he had exited the room Wanda reluctantly pulled away from the hug, but allowed Natasha to continue rubbing her back. “It’s hard to explain,” she whispered. 

Natasha nodded in understanding. 

“I feel lost sometimes in my own head. The panic grows manic until I can’t breathe. It’s like I’m drowning in my own thoughts. I try to get out, but if I try to fight it, I just drown quicker. The people online help me they gave me solutions on how to escape.”

“Solutions like what?” asked Natasha nervously. 

Wanda shrugged, “Like shots of vodka, trying drugs, pain. They all worked though mama. So it helps. They help me control it.”

Natasha heart was breaking hearing these words coming from her kid, “Oh Wanda…What do you mean by pain?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not doing anything silly….”

Natasha took a deep breath and moved the teenager slightly so she was looking her directly in the eyes. “Wanda are you hurting yourself?”

“No, well not really.”

“Ok so what does not really mean?” questioned Natasha her tone showing her nervousness. 

Wanda sighed and stood up, she undid her sweatpants and pulled them down slightly to show the top of her thighs. Natasha delicately ran her fingers over the small welts that remained. There were only a few marks on the pale skin. She exhaled slightly in relief that none of them were cuts. 

“How did you do these?” she asked.

Wanda shrugged awkwardly, “elastic band.”

Natasha nodded in understanding, “I’m so proud of you Wanda for telling me this. I know how hard it must be.”

“Does this mean you are not disappointed in me anymore?” asked Wanda weakly.

Natasha paused for a second, “I’m not ever disappointed in you. There are times where I am disappointed in your actions. But we will deal with that, you will be punished for your poor choices and we move on.”

Wanda nodded and cuddled back into the older woman. She allowed the girl to soak in the comfort for a few minutes before reluctantly pulling away.

“How do you always know all the answers?”

“I don’t, I just pretend I do so everyone believes me,” Natasha replied with a smirk. Wanda bumped into her shoulder giggling slightly.

Natasha knew it was time to grow sterner, “You need to apologise to Peter.”

Wanda scoffed, “Snitch’s get stitches.” 

Natasha scowled at the girl, “I need to seriously start monitoring what you are watching…”

Wanda shrugged at him, “Blame uncle Clint, he gave me his Netflix log in.”

Natasha smiled before remembering she was supposed to be having a serious conversation. “Wanda, you put him in a really unfair position.”

“He still shouldn’t have gone running to you. He betrayed me.”

Natasha shook her head at the teenager, “he would have betrayed you had he not told me.”

Wanda toyed with the drawstring in her pants, “what happens now? You going to make me talk to some shrink.”

“No,” replied Natasha, “I want you to, but I won’t make you do it. I hope you feel you can come to me.”

Natasha was finally starting to realise she that she had just been pushing Wanda further away with her prying. She knew she needed to let the teenager come to her, as difficult as she was going to find that. Wanda sighed in relief as Natasha’s words. “Thank you.” Natasha in her haste to protect the kid had forgotten the golden rule. You can only help someone who wants to be helped. 

“Now come on Wanda we have some things to take care of.”

“But we talked,” she stuttered back. 

“We did, and I’m so proud of that,” Natasha stated, she stroked Wanda’s hair in reassurance. “But that doesn’t negate what you did. What did you expect to happen? Surely you knew that I would find out what you were up to at some point?”

“I didn’t think I would get caught,” Wanda replied honestly. Natasha reacted quickly to cover the smile that was threatening to show on her face. 

“You will always get caught, if you ever think about doing something you shouldn’t be doing. I want you to think in your head what’s going to happen when Mama finds out.”

Wanda looked at her nervously, “so what happens now?”

“I think you know the answer to that,” Wanda slumped down in response. 

“Can I plead temporary insanity?” She awkwardly joked. 

Natasha shook her head, “Now come on let’s get this over with.” On a level Natasha didn’t want to do this but she knew that their occupation was dangerous. She feared for Wanda’s future especially if anything happened to her. Natasha needed Wanda to put her safety and health first and not just because she enforced it. 

“Can’t I just be grounded?” pleaded Wanda, “I promise I won’t do anything like this again.”

“I’ve heard this all before Wanda. I made a promise to you and I intend to keep it. I need you to know I always keep my promises.”

Natasha knew the importance of those words to the teenager. She stood up with the teenager, and glanced around the room. “Now where’s your hairbrush?”

Wanda blushed at the question, “top drawer.”

Natasha moved over to the chest of drawers and retrieved the implement and laid it on the bedside table. She then went and sat on the bed, moving the pillows out of the way. Natasha positioned herself with her back against the headboard. Wanda just stood where she was not reacting to all the movements. Natasha patted her lap invitingly, ‘come on Wanda.”

“Mama…” she groaned. 

“Don’t make me count to three,” came the response. 

“Don’t say things like that!” exclaimed Wanda in embarrassment. She slowly approached the older woman. Once she got to the side of the bed Wanda placed her knees on the bed and crawled over to where Natasha was sitting. She went to hug Natasha, but she quickly reacted to manoeuvre the girl over her lap. Natasha explained her behaviour with a curt, “No more delaying it.”

“Do you understand why you are in this position?”

“Yes,” came the exasperated response. Natasha tried to hide her annoyance at the attitude, she laid a mighty swat on the backside in front of her. “I would watch your attitude little one. I just need to check you understand you are here because of your actions prior to our conversation today. Not because of anything you have told me. I will never punish you for being honest with me.”

“Yes Mama, I understand,” she replied gingerly surprised by how much that one swat had stung. Happy with the response Natasha grabbed the helm of her sweatpants and pulled them down to her knees, urging the girl to lift her hips to assist the action. 

Natasha then went to pull down Wanda’s underwear to join the sweatpants.  
“Mama no.”

“What did I warn you last time Wanda? You don’t need to be embarrassed. Unless you have a really good reason this is happening.”

Wanda’s mind raced to come up with an excuse, “I... It’s... don’t…” she finally settled on muttering, “please?”

Natasha shook her head, and the underwear joined the sweatpants by her knees. Wanda turned red in embarrassment and grabbed a nearby pillow that had been discarded from the head of the bed. She buried her face into it focusing on the fabric on her face rather than the fact she was currently over Natasha’s knee. 

Natasha decided to not prolong the teenager’s embarrassment and started the punishment quickly. Wanda for all the posturing and whinging was trying to take it stoically. The room was quiet apart from the sound of Natasha’s hand connecting with skin. Sensing the fact that Wanda was bottling it up, she increased the pace and ferocity of the swats. Natasha noticed a slight change as the teenager started to fidget more in response, she tightened her grip and continue with the onslaught. After a few good minutes of blows, she halted her course and observed her handiwork. 

“OK Wanda, I’m now going to use the brush. I want you to remember this the next time you think of doing anything this reckless again. This is how that will always end whether you be 16 or 36. I love you too much for you to risk your life in that way.”

Wanda nodded, before remembering that Natasha always insisted on verbal responses. “yes Mama.”

The difference between the hand and the brush was instantly recognised, as after the first swat Wanda bolted up. Her hands went flying back to block the implement. 

…………………………………………………………………………….

“The hairbrush is evil,” moaned Wanda. Natasha snorted at the teenager who was wrapped up in her arms. 

“It teaches a good lesson doesn’t it?”

“How would you know?” questioned Wanda. “you were just inflicting it.”

Natasha smiled at the teenager, “How do you think I got the idea to use it?”

Wanda looked at her in shock, “Who?? When?? Why??”

Natasha looked slightly sheepish, ‘Laura.”

Wanda was stunned, “Laura? As in Clint’s Laura?”

Natasha nodded, “I’m sure next time we visit she would be happy to share some stories. Though this is not public knowledge…”

Wanda nodded in understanding. “Can we visit soon? I miss them.”

“Yeah, we can once we have this mission out the way we have been chasing this arms dealer for so long we think we have him.”

Wanda looked up at Natasha, “Am I coming on this mission?”

Natasha smiled, “Yes, well if you behave yourself over the next two weeks anyway. Do you think you manage that little one?”

Wanda rolled her eyes, “I always behave myself.”

“I think your sore backside evidences otherwise,” replied Natasha. 

“I don’t get in trouble often,” stated Wanda, as she wrapped her arm around Natasha’s waist, her hand went under her shirt in order to touch the skin on the stomach. Skin to skin contact always comforted her, she could never explain it. It seemed rather ironic when she avoided contact like the plague for many years, but when she was alone with someone she trusted it’s all she wanted to do. Wanda always hated the fact she liked it, when she always tried to put up such a front of not needing the basic comfort. Natasha replicated the action by rubbing Wanda’s back. 

“No you don’t get in trouble often but when you do you go all out.”

“Perhaps it’s because your rules are too stringent and I’m actually pretty reasonable,” joked Wanda.

Natasha narrowed her eyes the playful banter had disappeared, “I don’t think so, if anything I think I need to be stricter with you.”

Wanda huffed slightly, “I’m not a little kid.”

“You are not an adult either,” explained Natasha. “You have made some poor choices today Wanda. It’s my job to help you make better ones.”

Wanda didn’t know what to really say to that, she remained pensive on the bed. Natasha laid a kiss on her head. “Now come on, it’s almost time for dinner.”


	17. The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry slight smaller update than usual. I'm on holiday which in theory should mean more time to write... but it also means more time around alcohol. Alcohol and writing are not conducive activities who knew?!
> 
> Spoilers for Captain America civil war, coming up, and also a great deal of copying verbatim their script.

Wanda glared at Peter who was sat opposite the table from her. Peter tried to look anywhere apart from at Wanda, but her eyes seems to follow him everywhere. Sam oblivious to the tension spoke up, “Are we still doing our Sunday night movie night? I think we are up to educating Cap on 80’s movies.”

Steve nodded, “I’m happy with that.”

Tony turned to the youngest one at the table, “Peter, what do you think Die Hard or the Terminator?” 

Peter looked thoughtful for a second, “Wanda what would you prefer?”

Wanda stayed silent slightly longer than was required before stating in complete nonchalance, “I don’t really care as I doubt I will be joining thanks to you.”

Peter deflated at the answer and struggled to keep the wounded expression off his face. He was never any good at hiding his emotions. Steve spoke up, “Movie night is family night Wanda, of course you will be joining us.”

Wanda shrugged indifferently, “We aren’t all family.” Before anyone could correct her she turned to Peter, “What would you prefer Parker?”

Peter jumped on the question, “I would prefer Die Hard.”

“In that case I vote for the Terminator,” she snapped at him. Wanda clearly harboured a great deal of resentment towards her fellow teenager. Peter put his fork down onto his plate no longer feeling particularly hungry. 

“May I be excused?” asked Peter weakly giving the impression of a wounded puppy. Pepper glanced worriedly between the other adults at the table, “Sweetheart are you sure you have eaten enough?”

“I’m sure,” replied Peter, his head was aimed at the floor, his eyes downcast. 

“Underoo..” said Tony gently, but Peter had already stood up and left the room. Wanda felt the tension around the table and knew it was aimed at her but in this moment she really just didn’t care. The rest of the meal continued in silence. 

……………………………………………….. 

Peter laid on the bed in his room throwing the ball up in the air and catching it before it hit him on the face on the way back down. He was lazy in his approach but the action kept his mind slightly occupied. The knock at his door distracted him and the ball smacked him in the face. He sat up and rubbed his nose furiously to get rid of the sting. “Come in.”

The door opened to reveal Natasha and Pepper at the door, they both entered the room cautiously. 

“You ok little spider?” asked Natasha in a warm gentle tone. 

‘She hates me…”

Pepper spoke up, “She doesn’t hate you, she’s just being an angry teenager right now. I promise you this will all blow over.”

Peter shook his head, “It won’t. Wanda doesn’t trust easily. She won’t ever forgive me or trust me again.”

“She will,” assured Natasha. She sat down on the bed on one side of the teenager while Pepper sat on the other side. The teenager was sandwiched between the two women, he shook his head again, “You don’t get it, she won’t. She trusted me, now she won’t ever trust me again.”

Natasha went to wrap her arm around the kid, but he just shrugged her off him and stood up to escape her grip. She stayed seated as she spoke her next words, “she’s close to Tony now, none of us ever thought that would happen.”

A voice came from the doorway, “I didn’t even think that would happen.”

The room’s occupants all turned to the new voice in the doorway, “Underoo, do you want sweet or salty popcorn? Or both?”

Peter shook his head at Tony, “I think I’ll give it a miss tonight.”

“It’s family night,” replied Pepper, “you have to come.”

“I’m not family,” responded Peter quickly not hiding the hurt in his voice. 

“You are definitely family,” stated Tony firmly. “You are my kid, you already call this pain in my ass, Aunty Nat.”

Tony’s comment effectively cut the tension in the room. Peter smiled at the cocky man, and laughed at the look Natasha was currently shooting him. “As I’m apparently your little sister it would behove you to consider very carefully your next words.”

Tony turned to Pepper, “That’s 20 bucks.”

Pepper signed and opened her purse, “You couldn’t have waited till the morning to threaten him again.”

Peter’s eyebrows flew up, “You bet on Aunty Nat threatening you??”

“It’s a safe bet,” replied Tony with his tell-tale smirk. “Now come on Underoo, it’s movie night.”

……………………………………………….

Tony poured out a few glasses of whiskey, “Ice?”

Steve shook his head, while Natasha nodded. He handed the glasses out. Tony moved and sat at the table, sighing as he took a slow sip of the alcohol. The kids had gone to bed after the movie, it was probably the first time they hadn’t nodded off halfway through the film. “so what are we going to do about the kids?”

Natasha shrugged helplessly, “They aren’t toddlers we can’t make them kiss and make up.”

“Maybe we just need to give them some time,” expressed Steve.

Tony nodded, “yeah you are probably right, we should see how the next few days go…”

…………………………………………………………

Peter sheepishly entered Tony’s Lab, and approached his mentor/father figure nervously. 

“Hey Underoo.”

“Hey…”

Peter took a moment to take a deep breath, “I’m going to go live with my Aunt for a bit.”

Tony dropped his pen in shock, “What? Why?”

“It’s just too awkward…”

It had been a week since the incident as it was now being referred to. Wanda had been giving him an increasingly wide berth, completely ignoring his existence. He thought she would have relented slightly in the last few days but if anything her stubbornness was shining through. 

“No Pete, this stops now,” Tony said in exasperation. He grabbed Peter’s hand and pulled him through the complex, to the living room where Natasha was sat next to Wanda an American history book out in front of them.

“Romanoff, we need to leave the kids to it now. This has gone on long enough...”

Natasha glanced at the distraught Peter and the annoyed expression on Wanda’s face. She nodded in agreement. Natasha stood up and walked towards Tony.

“Mama where are you going?”

“Wanda you need to talk to Peter,” stated Natasha firmly. 

The two adults left the room, Peter walked over towards Wanda but kept a safe distance back. “I’m going to leave Wanda, don’t worry.”

“What do you mean leave?” questioned Wanda, her interest peaked. 

“I’m going to back to Manhattan, It’s clear you don’t want me here,” explained Peter sadly.

Wanda moaned in anger, “Stop being such a melodramatic whiny little teenager. Grow up!”

Peter’s own anger grew, “You are calling me melodramatic! You are the one always whining, poor little Wanda, all alone in the world, does drugs for a kick. When actually you have everything.”

“You think I have everything! How do I have everything? I lost my family, my home and my brother!”

“You have a family and you have a home, and you have a brother,” he replied pounding his chest. “I’m your brother. You idiot. I’m your family.”

Wanda paused in her anger, Peter took the opportunity to get all his feelings off his chest. “You scared me Wanda, I can’t lose you to! I have lost just as much as you. You aren’t special in your grief. I had to tell Aunty Nat, because you don’t care. I don’t care if you hate me for it. I would rather you hate me alive than love me dead.”

Peter was heaving by the time he finished his diatribe, his face was red, his voice hoarse from shouting. 

“You finished?” asked Wanda finally. She approached him slowly wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Peter relaxed and hugged her back. 

“It’s good to know you actually have a backbone Parker.” 

Peter looked startled for a moment, then smiled at her, “You are such a dick Maximoff.”

Pepper shook her head at the two adults who were currently attempting to listen in through the door, “you two look ridiculous.”

Tony turned back angrily, “Shush! We are trying to hear.”

“Both of you get away from the door, leave them to it! I mean it. I swear you two are peas in a pod.”

Natasha shrugged, “well I am a spy.”

“Don’t spy on your kids, come on the pair of you. Don’t you have a mission briefing anyway?”

“She’s right we shouldn’t keep Mr Romanoff waiting.”

“You know Steve doesn’t like it when you call him that,” replied Nat.

“Come on Romanoff we both know who wears the trousers in your relationship,” scoffed Tony. 

“True, but just don’t say it out loud.” Tony belly laughed at that, Pepper just shook her head in amusement as the two of them headed off to the meeting room. 

………………………………………………

“Seems a simple mission,” stated Natasha, staring at the intel on the screen. Steve nodded in agreement, “Should be, they have been very predictable in their attacks. So if we take Wilson, Romanoff, myself and Wanda. It should suffice.”

Natasha pursed her lips slightly while debating her answer, “Fine, Wanda stays back though.”

The rest of the room rolled their eyes slightly. “You do know she is not a toddler anymore right?”

“She is still a kid,” replied Natasha, “My kid.”

Tony spoke up, “She is our kid, and I know you guys will keep her safe.”

“So we leave for Lagos in the morning?” questioned Sam.

“Yes we will have a further briefing tonight with Wanda included, but we fly out 5:00am tomorrow for Nigeria.”

………………………………………………………………………….  
Wanda sat at the table she pushed her cap down further obscuring her face. She adds sugar to a cup and stirs it, while trying to discretely check around the street. A voice in her ear interrupts her action, “All right, what do you see?”

“Standard beat cops. Small station. Quiet street. It’s a good target,” she explained glancing towards the police station.

“There’s an ATM in the south corner, which means . . .” Asked Steve over the radio.

“Cameras,” responded Wanda immediately. 

“Both cross streets are one way,” stated Steve.

“So, compromised escape routes,” said Wanda in return. She continued to stir her coffee, discarding the empty packet of sugar. 

“Means our guy doesn't care about being seen, he isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out. You see that Range Rover halfway up the block?” asked Steve.

“Yeah, the red one? It’s cute,” joked Wanda.

“It's also bulletproof, which means private security, which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us.” Cut in Natasha on the radio, from her position a few tables down from Wanda.

“You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?”

“Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature,” Natasha said with slight worry, especially with the cocky confidence Wanda was currently showing. 

“Anybody ever tell you you're a little paranoid?” questioned Sam from his position on the roof. 

“Not to my face. Why? Did you hear something?” joked Natasha back. Wanda snorted into her coffee cup slightly at Natasha’s response. 

“Eyes on target, folks. This is the best lead we've had on Rumlow in six months. I don't want to lose him.” Steve cut in trying to get the team back on track.

“If he sees us coming that won't be a problem. He kind of hates us,” replied Sam with a smirk. Their attention was drawn away by a Garbage truck being driven recklessly down the street. 

“Sam, see that garbage truck? Tag it,” Ordered Steve.

Sam released from the back of his jet back a small drone, with detached and flew under the massive garbage truck. 

“That truck’s loaded for max weight. And the driver’s armed,” stated Sam nervously as the results of the scan were relayed to him. 

“It’s a battering ram,” exclaimed Natasha suddenly, getting ready to jump up.

“Go now,” shouted Steve.

“What?” asked a confused Wanda. 

“He’s not hitting the police!” yelled Steve. Natasha quickly ran in the direction of the building the garbage truck was hurtling towards.


	18. Civil Discourse

The Truck hurtled towards the guard station for the institute for infectious diseases. The armed driver jumped out as it smashed into the station. The trucks enter the compound through the hole left behind. Armed soldiers exit the vehicle firing rifles around the courtyard. Gas canisters are thrown into the building. Steve arrives and quickly takes out a few of the soldiers.

“Body armor, AR-15's. I make 7 hostiles,” Steve shouts over the gunfire. Sam flies in and up to a rooftop, spinning and using his wings to block gunfire. He takes out two soldiers in quick succession.   
“I make 5,” replies Sam. 

Wanda decided this is the moment to make her entrance, her powers giving her the impression of flying she leaps over the rooftop and into the courtyard. She blocks the bullets with one hand and uses her others to thrust a soldier into the sky.   
“Sam,” she yells. Wilson glides down from the roof and catches the soldiers before flinging him off. “Four.”

Sam looks down at his wrist getting the data from redwing, his drone, “Rumlow’s on the third floor.”

Steve turned to the teenager in the courtyard, “Wanda, just like we practiced.”

“What about the gas?” asked Wanda wearily, glancing towards the building. 

“Get it out.”

Wanda nods and wave her hands, boosting Steve up to the third floor window. She then sets about removing the gas from the building, she concentrates hard and starts pushing it out into the upper echelons of the atmosphere. Wanda was starting to feel drained, it was a great effort to move such a volume of gas to such a height where it no longer posed a threat. It took a while before she was happy that it was all gone. She turned back to see where the others had gone.

She headed in the direction of Steve, as she saw he was fighting in close combat with who she assumed was the ringleader. Punches were flying between the two men. Steve finally gets the upper hand and Rumlow drops to his knees in defeat. 

“I think I look pretty good, all things considered,” he joked sardonically. 

“Who's your buyer?” questioned Steve in annoyance. 

“You know, he knew you. You pal, your buddy, your Bucky,” Rumlow spat out. 

“What did you say?” asked Steve clearly affected by hearing that name. 

Rumlow realising he had hit the sore point continued on with glee, “he remembered you. I was there. He got all weepy about it. Till they put his brain back in a blender. He wanted you to know something. He said to me, ‘Please tell Rogers. When you gotta go, you gotta go.’ And you're coming with me.”

Steve looked down flinching in regret and Rumlow activated the bomb vest he was wearing.   
Wanda watched in shock screaming out, her mind not realising what she had just yelled, “Dad!”

She threw her arms out to contain the blast but she was already tired from her exertions earlier. Wanda attempted to lift the blast into the air like she had the gas. Steve turned to her in shock, half at what she had yelled and the other half about the sudden turn of events. Wanda tried to maintain control but in the last second her exhaustion hit through her and she lost control of the man and the explosion. He went smashing into a nearby office block. Wanda watches in shock as the building is devastated and fire reigns through the floors. She drops to her knees in horror, at the damage she had unwittingly caused. 

Natasha ran around the corner taking in the carnage, her first instinct was to run to her broken teenager, but saw the public and the cameras everywhere. It would not be good for their relationship to be public knowledge. As much as she yearned to comfort her devastated child. Steve tried to recover his equilibrium as he starred at the destruction. “Sam . . . We need . . . Fire and Rescue . . . on the south side of the building. We gotta get up there.”

……………………..

Wanda didn’t speak the entire jet ride home, they all tried to get the teenager to speak. As soon as she got back she locked her self away in her room. She found herself turning the TV on and listening to all the different reporting of the attack. She cringes with every word, as she thinks over her actions again and again, cursing herself for her weakness. If only she had trained harder, if only she had been better prepared. She should have been powerful enough. Wanda didn’t hear the door open, she only stopped watching the TV when it suddenly switched off. Steve set the remote on the bedside table, he was followed into the room by a concerned Natasha. 

“It's my fault,” said Wanda sadly. “That's not true,” replied Steve gently.   
“Turn the TV back on. They're being very specific,” stated Wanda firmly with a hint of sadness.

“I should've clocked that bomb vest long before you had to deal with it,” was Steve’s gentle reply. He went over and sat next to the teenager. Natasha stayed in the doorway knowing that Steve needed to handle this.   
“Rumlow said "Bucky" and . . . all of a sudden I was a 16-year-old kid again, in Brooklyn. And people died. It's on me,” continued Steve. 

“It's on both of us,” appeased Wanda. 

“This job . . . we try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes that doesn't mean everybody. But if we can't find a way to live with that, next time . . . maybe nobody gets saved.”  
Vision materialised through the wall. “Vis! We talked about this.”

“Yes, but the door was open so I assumed that ...Captain Rogers wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving.”

Natasha glared at the android, clearly unhappy that he had materialised in her daughter’s room prior to this, if her words were anything to go on. Steve knew he better speak up before the mama bear erupted.

“Thank you. We'll be right down.”

“I'll . . . use the door. Oh, and apparently, he's brought a guest,” replied Vision as he exited the room past the glaring black Widow. 

“We know who it is?”

Vision turned back abruptly from the doorway, to face Steve, “The Secretary of State.”

Steve sighed. Natasha glanced at him “it’s ok Steve, head over, Wanda and I will join you in a minute.”

Steve stood up and placed a kiss to Wanda’s forehead before leaving the room. Natasha went and sat down next to the upset girl. 

“You ok sweetheart?”

Wanda knew in that second why she had been avoiding Natasha since the incident, all it took was one term of endearment, the concern dripping in her voice and she broke. The tears cascaded down her face. “Of course you’re not.”

Natasha wrapped the girl into her arms, pulling the girls head into her chest, she peppered the girls head with kisses. Wanda just sobbed earnestly into the older woman. No more words were spoken, Natasha just gently rocked the teenager until there was only the occasional sniffle coming from the girl. “Take a few minutes’ sweetheart then come and join us in the meeting room ok?”

Wanda nodded before heading off to the bathroom to wash her face. 

Wanda entered the room to see everyone already sat around the table, she quickly took her seat and glanced up at Secretary Ross who was stood waiting to addres the room. “Five years ago, I had a heart attack. I dropped right in the middle of my back-swing. Turned out it was the best round of my life, because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass . . . I found something 40 years in the Army had never taught me: Perspective. The world owes the Avengers an un-payable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives . . . but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some . . . who would prefer the word "vigilantes"”

“And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?” questioned Natasha with a narrowing of her eyes. 

“How about "dangerous"? What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?”  
Ross activates a screen behind him. News footage from past Avengers and SHIELD matters flash on the screen as he speaks. Terror, destruction, gunfire, buildings tumbling appear scene by scene all running into each other like some sort of malevolent montage.  
“New York, Washington DC, Sokovia.”

At the mention of Sokovia, Wanda’s eyes are unable to move away from the screen as she watches her home city razed to the ground. The avengers had protected her from seeing most of the destruction, and wrapped her in cotton wall when it came to the media focus on the events. 

“And lastly Lagos.”

Wanda is unable to hide her discomfort as she visibly starts to tear up, she is one big raw ending still. 

“Okay. That's enough,” stated Steve firmly, looking over with concern at Wanda.   
Secretary Ross turns the images off, “For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution.”

He places a big book onto the table, “The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries . . . it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary.”

“The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that.” Argued Steve.

“Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?”  
Steve glares at him slightly in response but doesn’t respond so Secretary Ross continues, “If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes . . . you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground.”

“So, there are contingencies,” questioned Rhodes 

“Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords. Talk it over.”

“And if we come to a decision you don't like?” asked Natasha.

“Then you retire,” was Secretary Ross’s simple response.

……………………………..

The avengers all sat around the table, Steve was quietly reading the accords, as the others all discussed it between them. Wanda sat quietly as the others all discussed it around her. The arguing was making her uncomfortable. She listened carefully as Tony told them all about Charles Spencer the kid that had died in Sokovia. It had clearly impacted Tony more than he wanted to admit. The guilt was dripping from his pores. Steve just argued back about responsibility and agendas. The words were all starting to blur to Wanda, but she focused back when she heard Tony say, “If we don’t do this now, it’s gonna be done to us later. That’s the fact. That won’t be pretty.”

Wanda looked up and stared at Tony, “you’re saying they’ll come for me.”

Natasha noticed she said ‘me’ in stead of ‘us.’ Vision spoke up quickly, “We could protect you.”

Natasha kept replaying Tony and Wanda’s words over and over in her head as if they were on continuous loop. She had to protect Wanda at any cost. “Maybe Tony’s right. If we have one hand on the wheel. We can still steer. If we take it off…”

Sam interrupted her, “aren’t you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?”

“I’m just…. I’m reading the terrain. We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back,” Natasha hoped she had managed to deflect the attention away from Wanda. She hoped the team didn’t realise her true intentions. 

“Focus up, I’m sorry, did I mishear you or did you agree with me?” joked Tony. 

“Oh I want to take it back now,” responded Natasha sharply.

“No, no, no. You can’t retract it. Thank you. Unprecedented. Okay, case closed. I win.”

Steve glanced towards his phone, he drops the accords onto the table. “I have to go.”

Natasha glanced at her own phone and sighed before turning to Wanda, “Wanda sweetheart I need you to stay with Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper. I have to go with Steve, I won’t be away for long I promise.”

Wanda nodded mutely, Natasha hated herself for being torn between the two people she cared for most in the world. 

……………………………………………………

Steve stood alone in the church aisle, dressed uncharacteristically all in black. Natasha approaches him slowly she doesn’t need to say a word to prompt him speaking. 

“When I came out of the ice, I thought everyone I had known was gone. Then I found out that she was alive. I was just lucky to have her.”

“She had you back, too.” Replied Natasha lightly. 

“Who else has signed?”

“Tony. Rhodey. Vision.” Stated Natasha.

“Clint?” questioned Steve.

“Says he's retired.”

Steve took a deep breath, “Wanda?”

“Wanda is a minor, she can’t sign, but as her legal guardian I’m responsible for her. I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. There's plenty of room on the jet.” Natasha trailed off at the end almost willing Steve to agree with her, “Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together.”

Steve can see by Natasha’s tone that she does not really believe it. “What are we giving up to do it? I'm sorry, Nat. I can't sign it.”

“I know,” replied Natasha sadly. 

“Then what are you doing here?” asked Steve, looking around the church. 

“I didn't want you to be alone.” Natasha pulls the man into a tight hug, “Come here.”

Wanda sat awkwardly at the piano, she couldn’t bring herself to play anything but her fingers on the keys gave her a lot of comfort. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” asked pepper. Wanda just shook her head. Pepper sighed and went and sat down next to the teenager. 

“You know I saw the clips from Lagos, I heard what you called Steve,” she said keeping her tone soft. 

Wanda turned red, “it was a mistake.”

“I don’t think it was Wanda. There is nothing wrong with wanting a family.”

“I don’t need a family,” she snapped back unhappy that Pepper was poking at her soft metaphorical underbelly. 

Pepper wrapped her arm around Wanda’s shoulder, “you keep telling yourself that, your uncle Tony has just left for Vienna. So it will just be me, you and Vision here for the next few days.”

“I want to go! Why has he left without me?” Wanda angrily replied. 

“Because you are not involved in this, your Mama and Uncle Tony are sorting this.”

“It involves me! I should be there,” argued Wanda back. “This is all my fault.”

Pepper looked at the teen sadly but knew she was not the right person to convince her otherwise. “Come on Wanda, get ready for bed darling. Then we can video call Natasha if you want.”

“No thanks, Good night.”

Pepper watched as Wanda slowly slunk away to her bedroom, anguish dripping off her body language. 

……………………………………………

The next few days passed slowly for Wanda, she felt lost. Without training or a schedule, she was structure-less. Her days just revolved around cooking meals and moping. Vision was trying his best to lift her spirits with home comforts but it wasn’t really working. It was further compounded when the news broke through of the bombing in Vienna. Natasha had called her to tell her that everyone was ok, and she was to stay put in the compound. Despite the chaos around the world. Wanda was going to argue but she heard Natasha’s weary tone and thought better of it. 

Vision wouldn’t even let her leave the building so she couldn’t even relax with the grass beneath her feet. She was trapped. It was the evening Pepper had gone out for a late dinner meeting such was the life of a CEO. She was stood next to Visions slowly stirring the dish of food. When an explosion outside lit up the window of the complex.

Wanda turned in worry, “What is it?”

“Stay here please.” Vision flew through the walls of the compound. Wanda felt the noise of someone entering the room behind her, she flung the knife off the side towards the assailant. She stopped the attack dead before it made contact when she realised who it was. 

“Guess I shoulda knocked.”

“Uncle Clint! What are you doing here?”

“Disappointing my kids. I’m supposed to go water skiing. Cap needs our help. Come on.”

Clint reaches his hand out to Wanda, before quickly raising his bow again when Vision reappears in the room. “Clint, you should not be here.”

“Really? I retired for, what, like five minutes, and it all goes to shit.”

“Please consider the consequences of your actions,” replied Vision calmly. 

“Okay, they’re considered,” joked back Clint, before turning his attention back to Wanda, “Okay, we gotta go. It’s this way.”

Wanda hesitated for a moment, “I’ve caused enough problems.”  
Clint jogged over to the teenager he wrapped his arms around her, “You gotta help me Wanda. Look you wanna mope you can go to high school. You wanna make amends, you get off your ass.”

Wanda pulled away and looked into his eyes, for the first time she saw someone finally talking to her honestly not handling her like she was fragile and breakable. She nodded in agreement. Vision seeing Wanda’s reaction attacks Clint grabbing him in a headlock as he avoids Clint’s blows back by phasing. 

“Clint, you can’t overpower me.”

“I know I can’t. But she can.”

“Vision, that’s enough. Let him go. I’m leaving,” stated Wanda firmly, her arms up in an attacking pose. 

“I can’t let you, I promised Tony, Pepper and Natasha I would keep you safe here,” replied Vision. 

“I’m sorry,” was all Wanda said as she sent him hurtling through the floors of the compound.


	19. Mending Bridges

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!

Wanda ran up to Steve and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. He lifted her slightly off the ground in response. Steve inhaled deeply. 

“I’ve missed you,” said Wanda softly. 

“Not as much as I’ve missed you,” replied Steve. “I’m so sorry Wanda, I didn’t mean to put you in this position.”

Wanda nodded in understanding, but just gripped the man tighter. She understood that she may have to fight her uncle, and mother. Clint had explained as much on the drive to Berlin. She couldn’t believe how fractured they all were. Steve moved aside, and gestured towards the man standing awkwardly off to the side, “This is Bucky.”

Wanda snorted, “what sort of name is Bucky?”

Bucky raised his eyebrows at her, “Oh she is definitely Natasha’s Kid.”

“You know her?” asked Wanda curiously. 

“I trained her,” explained Bucky before adding sheepishly, “and shot her.”

Wanda narrowed her eyes at the man, “the scar on her stomach?”

Bucky awkwardly stroked his temple, “yeah…”

Wanda turned abruptly to Steve, “And you defend him!”

“It’s complicated Wanda, it was Bucky but wasn’t Bucky…” Steve struggled to explain it to the young witch. After a few more attempts Wanda finally understood, and her face no longer resembled thunder, as annoyed as she was with Natasha she still felt protective. 

Wanda cocked her head slightly at Bucky, “So this is your brother?” 

She questioned Steve who looked slightly confused by the phrasing.  
“Yes he is my brother,” stated Steve, aware that blood is not a necessity for family. Bucky smiled at the confidence in which Steve spoke, he found it incredibly reassuring. 

Steve glanced back at Wanda, unsure of where she was going with this. The teenager looked thoughtful, “guess that makes you my uncle. I’m not calling you Uncle Bucky though, sounds like a bad country western movie. You will have to cope with Uncle James.”

Steve enjoyed the dumbstruck expression on Bucky’s face. 

“Come on, we have a chopper to catch,” cut in Clint. 

………

“Wow, It’s so weird how you run into people at the airport. Don’t you think that’s weird?” Joked Tony as he descended in his suit onto the tarmac in front of the rogue avengers. 

“Hear me out Tony…”

Natasha glanced in horror when she saw Wanda standing among them. “Wanda! Get over here now.”

Wanda shook her head, “I have chosen my side. I love you, but you are wrong. The accords are wrong. You just fear taking responsibility.” She grabbed Clint’s hand tightly with her own. The last statement had been clearly directed to Tony. 

Natasha looked at her dumbstruck and hurt, she turned angrily to Clint and Steve, “you are supposed to protect her what are you thinking dragging her into this!”

Tony turned to Natasha, “can we save the domestic for later?”

Wanda listened as her uncle and father figure argued between themselves. She kept side glancing in the direction of Natasha, trying to get an idea of what the older woman was thinking. Natasha made no attempt to disguise her own look, her focus hasn’t left Wanda since they all started arguing. It was if she was pleading with her eyes for the kid to come over. Her thoughts were interrupted when Spiderman whipped the Steve’s shield away from him. The fight had begun; Natasha knew she wasn’t focused she couldn’t be knowing her kid was involved. She punched Ant-man into the side of a plane, and watched as Wanda sent cars toppling towards Tony. 

“You locked me in my room?” Wanda said to Tony. 

“Okay. First, that's an exaggeration. Second, I did it to protect you,” replied Tony .

“Nice to see that worked out?” she replied sardonically. Tony muttered under his breath, “sassy kid, just like her bloody mother.”

He deflected a few of the cars away, but it was difficult to do so while concentrating heavily on making sure he didn’t accidently hurt his niece. 

Natasha approached and threw a punch at Clint, “What were you thinking bringing Wanda here?”

“What were you thinking locking her away?” he shot back in annoyance. 

Natasha threw another punch which Clint blocked. “She’s my responsibility. I was protecting her.”

Clint countered with a sweep which Natasha dodged effortlessly, “No you weren’t.”

Natasha caught him with a blow to the stomach and then pushed him down. Natasha was about to add another blow, when she felt her self being flung backwards. Wanda turned to Clint and helped him up, “you were pulling your punches.”

Natasha landed on her feet a few metres away. “Wanda... Sweetheart…”

………………………………………

Wanda grabbed Clint’s hand and took off in the direction of the bunker. She saw Steve ahead of them running towards it as well. Vision used his powers and the tower began to topple in front of them. She thrust her arms up to try and hold the weight of the building with her powers. Wanda held it long enough for them to get through. 

Steve came face to face with Natasha, “You aren’t going to stop are you?” 

Steve shook his head.

“I’m going to regret this….”

Natasha fired off some electric pulses which hit the black panther behind them. “Go...” she urged. 

Steve and Bucky ran past her towards the plane. Natasha glanced back and saw a gasping Wanda on the tarmac being held by Vision.   
…………….

Natasha approached Tony slowly, “how is he?” she glanced over towards Rhodey who was going through the MRI machine. 

“How do you think?” he spat out. 

“We played this wrong Tony,” explained Natasha weakly. “Where’s Wanda? In her room?”

Tony stiffened slightly pausing before deciding to tell the truth, “The Raft.”

Natasha’s eye burned with rage, “She’s where??!”

“She broke the law Nat, I had no control over this.”

“She’s 16 years old Tony, and she is in a prison. You better get her out of their now.” Natasha stalked up close to the man, inches away from his face. 

“I wouldn’t worry, T’challa has told Ross what you did. You may be joining her sooner than you think,” he replied in annoyance. 

Natasha glared at Tony, “I wouldn’t worry about me, it’s you that needs to watch your back.”

She turned abruptly and left the compound. 

…………………………………………….

The collar around her neck dug into her skin slightly. She knew it was there to inhibit her powers they obviously feared her greatly. The reason she was also wrapped up in a strait jacket. Her arms pinned tightly to her torso. Wanda sat crumpled on the floor, her knees bent beneath her, her back against the cold wall. 

She knew she should probably have regrets. Tony didn’t even look at her when he walked into the facility to speak to them. Uncle Clint had let his anger at him show. She just stayed quiet at this point she wasn’t sure who was right and who was wrong in this soap opera that was playing out. She had thrown a few cars at her Uncle Tony and thrown her Mama across the car park. But they had locked her in the compound. Excluded her from it all. Then there was Steve. Now she was in a high security prison, Natasha had allowed her to be taken away. Locked in, boxed in. She rocked slightly at those thoughts. Wanda hated being trapped especially as she felt betrayed. Natasha clearly wanted her to be imprisoned then she was no longer her problem. This was a convenient out for her. Wanda was an idiot for pretending she was part of a family; she was a weapon. A weapon to be used and yielded by whomever needed her. She was a fool. 

A loud explosion rocked the facility, she heard the screaming and yelling. Her cell door shot open. Wanda stumbled to her feet, it was quite difficult with her arms pinned. Clint rushed into the room and worked quickly to free her arms. He looked around the cell noticing all the uneaten food and Water. Clint looked at her questioningly. 

“I refuse to eat like a dog,” she motioned to her encased arms. Clint quickly calculated in his mind, “You haven’t eaten in 3 days??”

Clint removed the jacket and quickly deactivated the collar, throwing it in annoyance across the room, especially as he saw the words Stark industries written on the inside of the device. He didn’t want Wanda to see that. 

“Let’s get out of here,” stated Clint holding his hand out again. Wanda’s shaky arm reached out to grab it. Her arms numb from being pinned so tightly to her body. Clint took in her pale complexion and stance before making the decision. He lifted the teenager into his arms and carried her out of the room. 

“Clint I can walk.”

“Humour me,” he responded though there was no joviality to his tone. Clint was practically shaking in rage. 

Steve sighed audibly in relief when he saw Wanda in Clint’s arms. “Which way Cap?”

Steve pointed towards the jet, as they made their escape. He laid her gently onto the seats on the jet. Clint walked and whispered something into Steve’s ear. Wanda pricked her ears to try and hear it, but in her current state was unable to. She also realised with her energy so depleted even her powers were not a possibility. Wanda watched in annoyance as the two adults continued to obviously discuss her. She went to sit up only for Steve to loudly reprimand her. Their conversation continued for a while before Clint nodded and headed towards the cockpit of the moving plane. 

Steve approached the tired teenager, “How you feeling Wanda?”

“I’ve been better…What happens now?”

Steve ran a hand through his hair, “I don’t know.”

“Where are we going?”

“I don’t know,” he replied again honestly. 

“What do you know?” joked Wanda slightly trying to ease the tension in the small jet. Natasha emerged from the cock pit and rushed over to the teenager’s side. She started running her fingers over Wanda’s head checking for injuries.

“I’m fine Nat,” stated Wanda coldly. Natasha’s chest hurt at the cold tone and the name used. She turned to Steve, “Clint told me she hasn’t eaten in a few days, we should set her up with an IV.”  
Steve nodded and went to grab the medical kit. 

“I said I’m fine,” stated Wanda again in annoyance. Steve returned with kit, Natasha ignored the teenager and just grabbed a sterilising kit from the bag, and started wiping the bottom of Wanda’s arm. 

Wanda wrenched her arm away from the older woman, “I said I’m fine, I don’t need you fussing over me.”

“I get that you are angry at me. I made some mistakes. I’m sorry for that I’m not perfect. I was just doing what I thought was best for you.”

“Well you didn’t,” shot back Wanda in angry. “You got it stupidly wrong.”

Steve interceded, “don’t speak to your mama like that.”

Wanda glared at him, “she is not my mother, we are not some happy little family. Look at us! We are on jet to nowhere; you broke us out of prison! A prison you let us be taken away to when you fought against us.”

“We are a family,” said Natasha firmly. “You are allowed to be angry because things are so fucked up right now. But do not tell me we are not a family. I made a mistake but I am fixing it. Had I known they were taking you to the raft, I never would have allowed it. I went to meet you at the compound and that’s when Tony told me...”

“Convenient,” spat Wanda in anger. “it’s fine Romanoff, now you don’t need to worry about me.”

“I will always worry about you Wanda you are my kid.” Natasha’s words affected Wanda so maybe she wasn’t trying to get rid of her but at the same time she had betrayed her. If she didn’t do any of this on purpose, then she failed her…. 

“Stop calling me your kid. I’m not. I won’t forgive you for this Romanoff. It’s pathetic us all playing pretend family. Stop trying to make me into the child you can never have.”

Natasha felt the sucker punch hit her straight in the stomach. This was what Clint had warned her about all those months ago. She was a teenager, an emotional vicious teenager. Wanda knew all the parts of her she could destroy. She knew on a level Wanda was just lashing out, and she probably didn’t mean it but it was no salve for the burn she felt in her chest at the words. 

Suddenly the door flew open from the cockpit, and Clint came striding in angrily, “Wanda Scarlett Maximoff!”

Sam Wilson looked back from his place in the plane, “not getting involved with this,” he murmured under his breath, pressing a button on the console to shut the door behind the irate archer keeping a wall firmly between him and the family drama. 

Wanda turned in shock to face the archer, she could not ever recall him ever raising his voice to her. “You apologise this second. You are going to sit there while we put that IV in, then you are going to have a nap. Do you understand me?”

Wanda looked dumbfounded at her uncle, “Yes sir,” she replied sheepishly. Her uncle Clint was the fun one, he never yelled at her. She belittled herself for referring to him as uncle in her mind. Here she was perpetuating the lie. This stupid fairy tale she was living in like some poor orphan Annie. 

Natasha tenderly picked her arm back up and continued sterilising the area. She quickly and efficiently found a vein and inserted a line and hooked the bag up to the roof of the jet. Wanda watched as Natasha carefully and lovingly continued her actions. She felt guilt starting to rise in her chest at her outburst as Natasha quietly put a pillow under her head and covered her in a blanket. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered quietly avoiding eye contact with Natasha. 

“It’s ok,” replied Natasha. It was only once she was sure Wanda was asleep that she let go. Sobbing between the two men she cared for most in her life. For someone who had been shot, stabbed and blown up, she could not ever remember an attack hurting her this much. Even with Steve’s warm arms holding her close and Clint stoking her hand, the comfort did nothing to soothe her. 

Wanda woke up as she felt the jet land on solid ground. “Where are we?”

She sat up tentatively, and glanced across the ship. She saw Natasha asleep sandwiched between Steve and Clint. The tell-tale sign of wet cheeks visible, the guilt coiled in the teenager’s stomach knowing she was the cause of the older woman’s distress. Steve was asleep as well cuddled into Natasha, but Clint was awake and heard her question. 

“Wakanda,” replied Clint a level of coldness in his voice. Wanda knew in that moment he was still angry. 

“Uncle Clint,” she whimpered at him. Clint looked at the teenager and calmed slightly, he carefully extracted himself from Natasha not wanting to wake the woman. The fact she was still sleeping was evidence to her exhaustion. She hadn’t slept since finding out they were being held captive in the raft. Clint approached Wanda and carefully removed the IV from her arm. 

“Do you hate me?” asked Wanda quietly. 

“Of course not,” replied Clint quickly, “you are just lucky you need medical attention, as otherwise I would have put you over my knee.”

Wanda blushed at the reprimand. “but you agree Nat was wrong! You rescued me from the compound.”

“Your words were nothing to do with the accords, you wanted to hurt her and you did. That woman loves you. She has taken care of you for months at the expense of herself. She took care of you as a baby even… She hasn’t slept in two days neither has Steve as they worked to figure out how to break us out of the raft…”

“oh,” was the only utterance Wanda could think to speak. 

“I am telling you now though if you ever say anything like that to Natasha again….” Clint let the threat trail off knowing it would be more effective this way. Clint wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder, “Now we have arrived, so do you want to wake up your parents while I help Sam sort the ship out.”

Wanda nodded weakly and stood up slowly. She tip-toed over to the two sleeping adults, and gently poked Steve’s shoulder. He woke quickly to the contact, “Wanda everything ok?”

“Yeah, Clint said to say we have arrived.”

Steve nodded and planted a kiss to Natasha’s head, “Wakey Wakey Nat.”

Natasha groaned in annoyance but opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Wanda nervously stood in front of her, she pulled away from Steve and sat up on her own accord. Steve stood up awkwardly stretching, “I’ll go help unload and meet with T’challa.”

Leaving the two alone in the plane. 

“I’m sorry for what I said Nat,” said Wanda.

Natasha nodded urging the teenager to continue, “I was angry with you…”

“I understand that,” she replied simply. Wanda continued to awkwardly stand off from the woman, unsure what else to say or do. 

Natasha reached up and grabbed the teenager’s arm and pulled her gently towards her, “Come here.”

Wanda sat in Natasha’s lap and wrapped her arms around her neck. She took a deep shuddery breath and relaxed into the older woman’s hold. 

“How are you feeling Wanda?”

“I’m ok the drip has helped.”

“That’s not what I meant…” replied Natasha knowingly. “Do you need to?”

Wanda looked down at her feet, that feeling was pulsing angrily in her body. The guilt thumped along with her heart beat threatening to swallow her whole. “I just need an elastic band, and I’ll be fine,” she responded sharply. 

‘Is there anything I can say to you to make the feeling better?”

“No,” replied Wanda simply. “Nothing like that helps.”

“Why do you feel the need to punish yourself?” questioned Natasha, stroking her hand through the teenager’s hair. 

“I don’t punish myself,” she replied in confusion.

“Maybe you don’t realise that’s what you do,” stated Natasha. 

‘No, it’s the pain just focuses me.”

Natasha shook her head at the teenager, “I don’t think that’s it.”

Wanda stood up angrily, “Stop pretending you understand me better than I do!”

“Yeah and there’s your anger so I am right,” said Natasha knowingly. “You are so much like me.”

At those words Wanda visibly deflated, “I’m like you.”

“So much like me,” Natasha replied with a smile. “That’s how I know what you need right now.”

“What’s that?” asked Wanda.   
“You need to be punished so you can forgive yourself,” stated Natasha firmly. “I don’t want you punishing yourself anymore, if you feel guilty about anything I need you to come to me. We will talk it through and come to a solution together ok?”

“Why aren’t you angry with me? I said such horrible things to you.”

Natasha pulled the teenager back down into her lap, “I did the same thing to Clint and Laura. I understand.”

“What now?” asked Wanda curiously.

“How do you feel?” asked Natasha. Wanda looked thoughtful for a moment. The loud thumping in her chest had abated, it had coiled down. She still felt that guilty loss of control but it was no longer overwhelming. 

“It’s not as bad,” replied Wanda in slight shock. 

“See sometimes Mama does know best,” stated Natasha warmly. She tapped her thigh lightly indicating her to stand up. “Now come on let’s go meet with the King.”

“Did you say King?” asked Wanda curiously. Wanda turned her back to Natasha and started to walk out of the jet, when she felt a resounding pain explode across her backside. She turned around quickly and started rubbing furiously. “Oww!!!”

Natasha looked at her with a cocked eyebrow, “I wasn’t going to let you get away with shouting at me like you did princess. I’ve warned you before about yelling at me.” 

“Some warning would have been nice,” replied the irate teen who was still trying to rub the sting away. 

“Count yourself lucky it’s not more,” said Natasha as she wrapped her arm around the teenager’s shoulder. 

Wanda shook her head but found herself leaning into the older woman’s body. The last of that uncomfortable feeling in her stomach had drifted away as she walked out of the jet.


	20. Safe Surrender

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay. I've been hit by that irritating cold virus. so a bit shorter update than usual. Still I hope you enjoy.

“Fugitives??” questioned Wanda. “we are now fugitives.”

She looked around the table and stopped at a sheepish looking Steve Rogers. “So that’s it we hide for the rest of our lives.”

Natasha shook her head, “No, we just need to bide our time. Clint is accepting the plea deal and it going back to the farm to be with his family. We are going to travel around to avoid detection.”

Wanda looked at her in confusion, “who is we?”

“You will be travelling with Steve and I.” 

“What about Sam?” asked Wanda.

“He will meet up with us periodically but it will be easier for us to travel undetected,” explained Steve. 

“What am I missing here?” asked Wanda with a slight eyebrow raise. “and what are we biding our time for?”

Steve coughed awkwardly, “Tony is working on the accords.”

“You think we can trust him?” Wanda responded in anger, “he was the reason I ended up in the raft.”  
“All you need to know is that we are sorting it. T’challa has said we can stay here a few more days before we move,” explained Natasha sternly. 

“Shutting me out again Nat, because that worked out so well last time,” sassed Wanda. 

“I’m not having this attitude Wanda, so reign it in, before I do it for you,” stated Steve. Wanda looked at the man in surprise he rarely ever rebuked her. 

“Shuri would you mind showing Wanda your lab, we have a few things that we all need to discuss,” stated T’challa. 

Wanda shook her head furiously, “No chance, this involves me. I get to be a part of the discussions.”

“No you don’t, you get to do as you are told. Things are different now Wanda. We are going to be in constant danger which means you need to just listen to us. You need to take this seriously,” said Natasha. 

“I am taking this seriously, I was the one imprisoned! I’m not some stupid little kid. I can take come of myself and I can contribute,” argued Wanda her agitation clearly showing. 

“You can help by going with Shuri now.”

Wanda crossed her arms against her chest and glared at the two adults, “I am staying and you can’t make me leave. I am more powerful than both of you, and you know it.”

Natasha stood up to the petulant teen, “Wanda, you are seriously pushing your luck right now. You need to do as you are told, you will not like what happens if you don’t.”

Wanda slammed both her hands down on the table, “I’m pretty sure I can take you.”

Steve stood up between the two of them, “Everyone needs to calm down.”

He looked over to Wanda, “You darling need to do as you are told now, before you talk yourself into trouble.”

Wanda shook her head, “I let her punish me before, we all know I could have stopped it with my powers if I wanted to.”

Natasha calmed down and looked at the girl sadly, “Are you saying you would use your powers to hurt me?”

Wanda looked taken aback by that question, “what??”

“Are you saying you would attack me with your powers?” questioned Natasha again not taking her eyes off the teenager. 

“Well… No..” replied Wanda slightly calmer now. “I wouldn’t…. I mean couldn’t… you are my…”

Natasha nodded slowly realising the teenager had calmed down now after her angry outburst. “Right well I’m glad you have now realised how childish you have been, you are going to go with Shuri now, and you will be going to bed early tonight as a consequence for this behaviour.”

Wanda looked at the woman stunned at this turn of events, “ok Mama.”

Shuri reached her hand out to the teenager, “come on Wanda, I have some pretty cool things to show you, it’s better than being sat in here.”

The two teens left the room and T’challa turned to her in shock, “you are going to need to explain to me how you managed that?”

Natasha snorted at him, “I wish I could.”

……………………………………………..

Wanda decided that she liked Shuri, her wit and sarcasm was reassuring to her. She didn’t treat her like a fragile damaged child. She just treated her normally. Well as normally as you could treat a teenage lab experiment. Wanda laid a hand on the suit in front of her, “So it absorbs energy?”

Shuri nodded in agreement, “yes.”

“how much can it absorb?” she questioned. 

Shuri shrugged slightly, “it has withstood machine gun fire.” 

Wanda looked at the suit deviously, “Do you want to test it?”

Shuri glanced back intrigued, “What did you have in mind?”

Wanda smirked back at her showing the red wisps dancing from her fingertips. 

…………………………………………………

Steve looked around the table, ‘So we are in agreement?”

T’challa nodded and shook his hand, “I will work with Tony to get these Accords repealed, until then…”

He let his comment drift off. Natasha moved toward him, and grasped him in a firm hug, “Thank you for your help, we couldn’t have got them out of the raft without your help.”

“It was the right thing to do,” replied T’challa. “So when did you want to leave for London?”

“A couple of days if you don’t mind?” asked Steve. “We just want to give Wanda some time to settle.”

“That is understandable, you are always welcome here.”

Steve nodded in gratitude, “Look after Bucky for me.”

“Of course.”

Natasha smiled at two men it seemed crazy to her that just last week they were all fighting in Berlin. A loud explosion rocked through the room, “What was that?” yelled Natasha in alarm.

“it’s coming from the lab,” explained T’challa in a panic. Natasha felt her stomach drop, they ran after T’challa who had sprinted from the room down the corridor towards the smoke and fire. 

He grabbed a fire extinguisher off the wall and started dousing out the flames. Natasha and Steve followed into the room and oversaw the carnage that was the lab, and the various dummy’s that were on fire. 

Shuri was stood next to an equally bemused Wanda, “That was amazing!”

Wanda blushed under the praise. “we need to try that again, let me make some adjustments first,” Shuri continued to type away furiously on her tablet.

T’challa turned to her in a rage, “What is going on here?”

“Calm down brother, everything is fine...” she dismissed him with a wave of her hand. 

Natasha rushed to Wanda, “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, we were just carrying out some tests,” explained Wanda brushing Natasha off her. 

“I think that’s enough tests for today, you have nearly given me enough heart attacks in the last few weeks,” explained Natasha. Steve nodded in agreement. 

“Sister I don’t think you should be carrying out these levels of tests without an adult present.”

Shuri just groaned at him, “Have faith brother.”

“Come on Wanda, I think it’s time we had a chat anyway,” explained Steve. 

………………………….  
Wanda was sat cross-legged on the bed, she glanced nervously between the two adults. 

Steve cleared his throat, “firstly Wanda, we are sorry. We are sorry that everything has gone as wrong as it has….”

Wanda nodded in understanding, and reached out and took his hand firmly with her own, “I understand.”

Natasha tentatively spoke up, “Things are different now though Wanda. We are going into hiding; we will be hunted. It’s important now more than ever before you listen to Steve and I without question. There can be no running off. We may come across as overbearing but we will do anything to protect you.”

Wanda rolled her eyes playfully, “I know.”

Wanda released Steve’s hand, “So what happens now? How are we going undercover? What about James?”

Natasha smiled slightly, “That was a lot of questions sweetheart. The best way for us to travel and be able to stay in one location for the longest possible period of time is to be a family.”

Wanda nodded urging Natasha to continue, “Bucky is staying in Wakanda, they are going to make sure he is completely deprogrammed.”

“Is Peter ok?” asked Wanda suddenly, her mind finally focussing on the past few days and concern for a pseudo little brother. 

“Peter is fine,” reassured Natasha, “He is with Tony, but unfortunately you won’t be able to see him for a while.”

Wanda failed to keep the disappointment from her face at Natasha’s words, and her reaction hurt Natasha and Steve. They both felt guilty for the situation. 

“When do we leave?” asked Wanda.

“The next few days, we are going to London first. We have secured our first safe house there,” explained Steve.

“Surely it would be easier for you to travel without me,” stated Wanda nervously. 

Natasha spoke up, “I am never going anywhere without you again Wanda. I made that mistake once I won’t make it again. You will be safer with us.”

She reached out and pulled the teenager into her body, and stroked her hair gently. Wanda relaxed into the touch and yawned. 

“Now come on it’s bed time,” explained Natasha softly. 

Wanda looked at her in annoyance, “It’s only half eight.”

“Yeah exactly, your bedtime tonight after the day you have had,” responded Natasha with a smirk. 

“You drive me crazy, you know that,” sassed Wanda. 

“I know,” replied Natasha, she leaned in and kissed her forehead, “Now there are some PJ’s in the top drawer, we will leave you to get changed and then I‘ll be back to tuck you in.”

“Mama… I don’t need you to tuck me in, I’m 16 years old.”

Natasha looked back at her from the doorway, she was gripping Steve’s hand tightly. “I know you don’t, but I need to do it for me.”

Wanda looked at her curiously, finally noticing how tired and stressed she looked. The tiredness was evident on Natasha’s face. It took a lot for Natasha to make such a statement. 

“Mama, can you stay with me?”

Natasha turned back and Steve smiled at the teenager, glad she had recognised what they both needed. Steve left the room shutting the door firmly behind them. Wanda quickly changed into the PJ’s and climbed under the covers beckoning the older woman to follow her. Natasha crawled under the duvet and wrapped the teenager into her arms. Wanda knew this wasn’t just for her benefit, for the first time in a long time she was comforting someone rather than being the one that needed it. She snuggled into the woman’s tight grip and exhaled in relief. Wanda didn’t even say a word when she noticed the older woman’s tears she just placed a gentle kiss to her cheek before laying her head on her chest. She let the soothing heartbeat lull her to sleep.


	21. The Transition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I'm still a bit under the weather which has made writing difficult. Apologies for the delay. I hope you enjoy.

Wanda woke up still tightly encased by the older woman. She wriggled slightly the movement allowing her to slowly inch herself away from the black widow. Wanda gently disentangled herself from Natasha, and sat up in the bed. She smiled warmly at the woman, a smug smirk on her face as she saw that the famed black widow had drooled slightly onto the pillow. Not many people got to see Natasha Romanoff with her guard down. She was one of those selected few the guarded woman allowed. Wanda placed a gentle kiss onto the older woman’s forehead enjoying the rare role reversal. She carefully tip-toed out of the room, deciding it was best to let the retired spy sleep. 

Wanda wasn’t completely settled in Wakanda, it wasn’t home. That’s not to say they had not been made to feel welcome. She couldn’t really put her finger on it. Wanda knew on a level she missed the compound and more importantly missed the people. She just wasn’t ready to admit that she missed Tony, self-righteous hate was much more palatable to her at this given moment. Wanda slowly headed towards the kitchen hopeful she would find some freshly brewed coffee in there. The advantage of Natasha being asleep was that she would actually get to drink most of it rather than playing their usual game. Natasha always stole her morning coffee; she always took issue to the amount of coffee Wanda drank. This was something Wanda always found rather irksome though she enjoyed the banter. 

Wanda wasn’t surprised to see Steve already sat in the kitchen sipping at his own caffeinated beverage. 

“Morning,” stated Steve.

“morning,” parroted Wanda back, “Sorry I stole your girlfriend last night.”

Steve chortled, “if anything she stole you.”

Wanda smiled at that. Steve spoke up again, “Is she still asleep?”

Wanda nodded, “out and drooling on the pillow.”

“She doesn’t believe that she drools, so don’t mention it to her. I can’t be bothered with the discussion.”

Wanda snorted in laughter at that. Steve stood up and started making a cup of coffee for the teenager and an extra cup for Natasha.

“I’ll go wake up the terrifying spider with a coffee.”

Wanda joke saluted the ex-solider, “Good luck and god speed.”

………………………………………….

Natasha stretched out but awoke with a start when she sensed the empty bed. 

Steve quickly intervened from the doorway, “she’s fine Natasha, she is in the kitchen getting breakfast and then she is going to see Shuri in the lab.”

She sighed in relief, and allowed her body to slump back into the bed. Steve slowly walked towards her and lowered the hot coffee onto the bedside table, before sitting on the bed next to her. 

“Honestly Nat you are going to drive yourself crazy if you don’t relax a bit.”

Natasha looked at him sadly, “last time I dropped the ball she ended up on the raft….”

Steve wrapped a strong arm around her body, “We won’t let that happen again.”

“It’s bad enough we let it happen once,” responded Natasha in guilt.

“it’s not all on you Nat, all we can do is do what we think is best,” cajoled Steve gently. “She is also fine, considering everything that has happened. Wanda is turning into a well adjusted normal teenager, which is incredible in itself.”

Natasha glanced back at the man, almost pleading with herself internally to believe his words. “You think so?”

“100%.”

Natasha leaned over and pressed a kiss to Steve’s lips, “you always know what to say.”

“What can I say… rousing speeches have always been my thing.”

Natasha smirked at him, “Peter did show me the educational videos.”

Steve blushed at that, “I was hoping I got away with those….”

“Never,” joked Natasha. “You were very cute in them though.”

“Just cute?” questioned Steve with a raised eyebrow. In response Natasha wrapped her legs around him and pulled him tighter towards her body. “There are other adjectives I could use, but I’m not sure you could handle it. You are a tad old fashioned.”

“No more fossil jokes…” cut off Steve, choosing that moment to kiss Natasha firmly, and pull the woman on top of him, causing the black widow to giggle like a school girl.

……………………………………………….

“Where are your parents?” questioned Shuri. She turned back to her fellow teenager as she tapped away on her tablet. Wanda was rocking back on the reclined chair. “Probably fucking…”

Shuri turned in shock, “what?!”

Wanda shrugged in response. “They are like horny teenagers…”

Shuri clicked her tongue, “wow…. You are very blunt.”

Wanda swivelled slightly in her chair, “No point being a pussy about it.”

“Ok I think I have sorted them.”

Shuri grabbed the vibranium bracelets off the side, and handed them to the witch who carefully put them on her wrist, “this should help centre your powers.” 

Wanda twirled her hands slightly and watched them glow red. She took a deep breath as she felt the power course through her. Shuri just smirked at her, “Why don’t you test your range?”

Wanda looked out of the lab and towards the kitchen. She concentrated and thought about a mug, and was shocked when one came whizzing towards her. A startled yelp broke the silence from the hallway. 

“Wanda! Why was I nearly decapitated by a mug!” exclaimed Sam Wilson. 

“Sorry Uncle Sam!” yelled Wanda trying to hide the laughter from her voice. 

“You will be sorry,” replied the voice. Shuri snorted in amusement, “I would say that was successful.”  
…………….

Despite the fact it wasn’t home Wanda was still sad to be leaving Wakanda, she had grown fond of Shuri. It was nice to speak to someone openly. She was aware that now secrecy was everything. They were going to be on the run. She sat on the plane leaning into Natasha’s body, a strong arm was wrapped around her shoulders. Wanda was trying to memorise the back story she had been given aware that she most know it inside out. Her name was Scarlett Wanda Rushman, it allowed her the freedom to still go by Wanda without arousing suspicion. She was moving to London with her parents Nat and Ben. Wanda had laughed for several minutes at the fact Steve was going to go by Ben, but Natasha got away with Natalie. Steve thought his beard made him more like a Ben. Wanda noticed that Natasha seemed to approve of the facial hair, she was constantly running her hands through the coarse hair. 

Natasha was going to be a teacher, her years spent in espionage and assassination meant she was quite the accomplished polyglot. Being a foreign languages teacher seemed the most obvious option. It would also allow her to keep an eye on Wanda. Steve was going to be a gym instructor, his physique naturally supported that career option. He could be self employed and it would allow him the time necessary to prevent them getting caught while Natasha supervised Wanda. 

Wanda looked up from the papers in her hand, “Do I really need to be 15 again?”

Natasha nodded, “We have to put you at the start of your GCSE’s here in England. Too many questions would be asked if you went in mid final year.”

“I can’t believe I have agreed to this,” murmured Wanda under her breath. 

“We didn’t really have a choice sweetheart; people would ask too many questions if you didn’t go to school. We need to try and blend in as much as possible,” explained Natasha lightly. 

Wanda sighed but just snuggled closer into the woman. “I could pass as college aged…”

Natasha shook her head, “in England you have to be in education until 18 anyway, and sweetheart you aren’t quite there yet.”

“I could pass for 19…”

Natasha just groaned slightly, “that’s not what I meant Wanda, I meant academically you aren’t there yet…”

Wanda pulled away from the woman in annoyance, “you mean I’m too stupid to pass for 19.”

Natasha looked the girl in the eyes, “You know that’s not true, don’t jump to assumptions. You just need to stay in education a bit longer though kiddo.”

Wanda crossed her arms in annoyance, “It would have been quicker for you to explain if you just said, Wanda you are a dumbass.”

Natasha glared at the teenager, “Wanda stop that. Don’t be so dramatic.” 

Wanda went to stand up, but Natasha held the squirming teen firmly in place. “I’m just saying what you mean…”

“Do not try and correct me. I know exactly what I meant little girl.”

Wanda’s stomach squirmed at the strict tone that was addressing her. “Mama….”

Natasha stroked the teenager’s arm who relaxed back into the grip. She wasn’t quite sure when the conversation had moved from playful banter to her being berated. “Don’t Mama me, you know I don’t tolerate you self-deprecating,” stated Natasha with a quick rise of her eyebrow. 

“You missed a lot in your childhood Wanda, this is just an opportunity that we need to take to give a little bit back.”

“You have been reading those parenting forums again haven’t you?” deadpanned Wanda. “Using terms like opportunity rather than fugitive shit show.”

Natasha bopped her nose playfully, “Watch your mouth.” 

“Ha, you do realise I get to backchat you now with an audience of fellow teenagers,” responded Wanda with a smirk.

“Do you really want to try that?”

Wanda looked thoughtful in that moment, “I think I do.”

“Wanda…” said Natasha suddenly turning a bit more serious. “You know this can’t be a massive joke we are in hiding. You do need to do as you are told. I wasn’t messing around before.”

Wanda’s good mood soured slightly, “I am not a little child. I do know that. I’m practically an adult.”

“Practically is not the same as actual adult. Wanda I’m being serious you need to listen to us. Steve for all purposes is going to be a parent to you as well. I have given him my full permission to discipline you as he sees fit.”

“Discipline me?? I don’t need disciplining and he doesn’t have my permission to do that.”

“Well he doesn’t need your permission he has mine. He already does it but you probably haven’t realised it,” replied Natasha. “Wanda I am not playing on this. We are in danger, you will not like the consequences if you disobey us.”

The good mood on the airplane had entirely dissipated. As neither party knew really what to say. 

Wanda took a deep breath hoping to break the tension, “So when do I start school?”

“Monday,” replied Natasha simply. “We have a few days to settle in.”

Natasha then looked at the girl awkwardly, “we also need to change your look…”

Wanda looked at her questionably, “What do you mean?”

“How do you feel about going blonde?”

“Oh god no….” replied Wanda timidly. Natasha laughed out loud.


	22. First day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! hope you enjoy, please comment your feedback really helps.

Steve juggled the cases and keys in his hand, before finally pushing it into the lock, and opening the door. Natasha turned to Steve carrying the sleeping Wanda, “I’m going to put her to bed in the master bedroom with us, I don’t want her to wake up confused in a strange room.”

Steve looked over, “you go get to sleep Nat, I’ll finish sorting stuff out.”  
Natasha nodded tiredly, smiling at the caring man in front of her.

……………………………  
Wanda slowly stirred in the bed, she opened her eyes in confusion. She was in a bed; she definitely didn’t go to sleep in a bed. Wanda heard light snoring to the left of her, she glanced over and noticed Steve laying there out to the world. She turned her head to the right, and took in the sight of Natasha also asleep. She slowly crawled out of the bed, and tiptoed out of the room. She walked out onto the landing, and started to wander down the hallway, she noticed the floor creaked as she stepped on the floorboards. Wanda slowed down her pace as to not wake the sleeping occupants of the room. She took in her surroundings, as she slowly made her way down the stairs. 

Wanda found the kitchen, and was relieved to see they had coffee and milk. She filled the kettle with water and flicked the switch. She started checking all the cupboards for a mug of some description. 

“Top left,” came a voice from the doorway. Wanda turned startled at the voice. Natasha just walked slowly into the kitchen, “Mugs, top left,” she repeated. 

Wanda reached up and plucked two mugs out of the cupboard placing them gently on the side. Natasha went into the fridge and retrieved the milk.

“You could have woken me up you know; it must have been hard work for Steve carrying me in here.”

Natasha smiled, “Steve carried the luggage, I carried you.”

Wanda dropped the spoon into the cup mid scoop of sugar. “You should have woken me up.”

Natasha’s smile dropped slightly, “I didn’t mind, you are very cute when you are asleep. You clearly needed the rest.”

“I don’t need to be babied Mama, you don’t have to carry me. In the future wake me up.” Wanda walked over to the hissing kettle, and poured the water carefully into the cups. 

Natasha watched her put the kettle back before she moved towards her, she grabbed her arm gently, “Wanda, I will always carry you.” Her free hand moved up to Wanda’s head and she ran her fingers lightly through her hair in a comforting motion. She dropped her arms down and grabbed the milk off the side and topped up both cups. 

Steve came padding into the kitchen tiredly. Scratching at his thick beard, he wasn’t a massive fan of it, but it did a good job of obscuring his identity. The rougher he looked the less he looked like the clean cut captain America. He grabbed a mug out of the cupboard for himself and began the process of making the coffee. 

“So Mummy and Daddy, what are the plans today?” Wanda asked with a hint of sarcasm. 

Steve took a seat at the small kitchen table, “get settled today, and then you start at school tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” squeaked Wanda, “it’s too soon I thought you said Monday, I don’t even have any clothes.”

Natasha coughed awkwardly, “We have sorted that part.”

Wanda narrowed her eyes at the two sheepish looking adults. “What clothes have you got me??”

Natasha rested her hand on the younger girl’s shoulder, “we will go shopping for some more clothes for you next weekend, but your school attire is sorted.”

Wanda looked confused for a second, before the realisation dawned on her. “I’m not wearing a school uniform….” She crossed her arms tersely across her chest. Steve looked over at Natasha. 

“You have to Wanda, we are in England most schools have a uniform policy.” 

“Then I’m not going to school, this is humiliating.” 

Steve stood up and walked over to where Wanda was sitting and Natasha was stood. He occupied the space the other side of Wanda, so Wanda was directly between the two adults. 

Natasha spoke up, “just think of it as you being undercover.”

Wanda whined, “I still don’t see why I can’t just be an adult undercover.” Natasha smiled over the top of Wanda’s head at Steve. She sounded so young when she was whining. It just confirmed she was doing the right thing in her head and that Wanda was a kid. 

“We can revisit it next time Wanda, I promise. We plan to only stay in one location for a maximum of 6 months, so if the accords aren’t resolved by then we will consider a change to the cover then,” replied Steve. Wanda narrowed her eyes at the smiling Natasha who was nodding along to what Steve was saying. 

“You are enjoying this too much…” Wanda placed her empty used cup in the sink. 

“You going to wash that up?” asked Natasha, as Wanda went to leave the kitchen. Wanda smirked at the older woman, “No I thought I would leave that to you Mama. I better start acting like a teenager now.”

Natasha looked over to the kitchen side, at the spilled sugar and coffee, “I deserved that…” Steve laughed out loud in response. 

………………………………

“You ready?” Natasha yelled up the stairs, she was dressed in a pencil skirt and white blouse, checking her watch furiously. 

“I’m not coming down…” yelled back Wanda from the top of the stairs. “I Look ridiculous.”

“Wanda we are going to be late, come on.”

Wanda stepped out onto the landing to the top of the stairs. The black skirt fell below her knee; the green blazer with the school shield emblazoned across it. Her white shirt was tucked in, and the school tie finished off the outfit. 

Natasha looked up at her from the downstairs hallway, “you are missing the socks.”

“I’m not wearing the socks Mama.”

“It’s part of the uniform Wanda.”

Wanda growled and stomped back into her bedroom. Steve stood in the kitchen doorway watching this all unfold. 

“I think she’s right, you are enjoying this too much,” Steve muttered from the doorway. 

Natasha looked over at him, “I’m just happy she is behaving like an actual teenager for once, even if it is a little frustrating.” 

She looked back up to the stairs and yelled, “You have two minutes.”

She heard the sound of frustrated banging and slamming from upstairs. Wanda appeared back in the upstairs landing now sporting the knee high socks. 

Wanda stomped down the stairs towards them, “I look like I should be in some catholic school girl Porno.”

Steve choked and spat out his coffee at that outburst. “Wanda, don’t say things like that.” 

“My next cover, could be stripper. Just need to pull this skirt up a bit, unbutton the shirt and I already have the perfect outfit.”

Natasha rolled her eyes, “not going to happen.”

“Have a good day,” stated Steve waving at the door as it closed behind them. 

………………….

Natasha pulled into the faculty car park, “You ready for this?”

“Let’s get this over with.”

They walked through to the main reception, Wanda was given her timetable, locker allocation and pointed in the direction of her form room. Natasha watched her walk off nervously. The receptionist gave her a knowing look, “Let me guess, you have been home schooling her and this is the first day in the big wide world.”

Natasha looked over at the older woman, “got it in one.”

“I’m sure she will be fine, here let me show you to the staff room.”

…………………………………………

Wanda sat gingerly in her seat, she was on edge and she was uncomfortable. This was as bad as she thought it would be, the bell had just rung for her first break apparently. She slowly rose to her feet, and flung her bag over her shoulder. She glanced at her timetable, realising her next class was Russian, and she groaned when she saw the teacher. She left the classroom and started heading to the quad, the name for the area between all the school buildings. The school was split into the different blocks for the different subjects. She started slowly walking over to the languages block. 

She waited outside the classroom until she had the second bell indicating it was time for the class. She entered the classroom, and picked the seat at the very back of the room. 

The rest of the class started the filter through into the small room. She saw Natasha sat at the front. 

“Good morning, I’m Mrs Rushman, your new Russian teacher. I would like to get you all to start by splitting into groups, and introducing yourself to each other, and presenting it to the class. This will give me a good idea of your proficiency in Russian.”

The whole class just starred at her, she clapped her hands together, “any time soon would be great guys,”

The class started moving the tables around to form small groups. Wanda soon found herself surrounded by a bunch of kids as she saw it. “Hey I’m Adam,”

Another boy waved at her, “George.”

“Becky,” the girl piped up next to her. Wanda realised they were waiting for her, “Scarlet but I go by my middle name Wanda.”

“Ok Wanda,” Adam reclined back in his chair. “How hot Is the new teacher?”

George smirked at him, “smoking.”

“Do you think she is actually a Mrs? I didn’t check for a ring.”

Becky rolled her eyes at the two of them, “Because of course her being married would be the only thing that stopped you two idiots having a chance.” 

Becky glanced over at Wanda, “I can only apologise on behalf of these idiots.”

Wanda just smiled at her, “It’s ok, but I can confirm she is married.”

This statement peaked the interest of the two boys, “How would you know?” asked Adam suspiciously. 

Wanda just looked at them, “I know her husband.”

The three teenagers leaned in closer to Wanda, “how?”

Wanda looked left and then right in a covert manner, “I call him Dad.”

Adam looked confused at George, but Becky just laughed at loud. 

Becky looked at the boys for a few more seconds waiting for the penny to drop. “She’s your mum??!”

“I guess you could call her that,” replied Wanda bitterly. 

“ooh, I recognise that tone, mummy issues,” asked George. 

“Let’s just say it wasn’t my choice to be here,” stated Wanda, it was relief in a way to discuss how disrupted she felt even if it she wasn’t being entirely honest about all the circumstances. 

Adam sat up in his seat, “at least you now get to meet us, and who would want to be deprived of that.”

Wanda shook her head, as Becky playfully slapped his arm. Becky opened her textbook, “Right what pointless shit are we going to talk about in Russian?”

…………………………………

Wanda headed out to the quad the lunch bell still ringing in the background. They walked past the entrance to the canteen and kept on walking, towards the gate. Adam walked slightly ahead to the side fence, he glanced back to Becky, “My Lady..” he bowed dramatically and pushed the fenced to the side. Becky squeezed through the small gap, Wanda looked at her new friends.

“You coming?”

She just nodded and slipped through the gap. The four of them headed away from the school. Adam went into his bag and pulled out the pack of cigarettes, and handed them out to the other two. 

“You smoke Wanda?” 

Wanda rolled her eyes, ‘I was smoking when you were still buying Pokémon cards.” She accepted the outstretched packet. Adam threw his bag to the ground and sat with his back against the fence. Wanda quickly lit the cigarette hanging from her lips and enjoyed the mentholated smoke filling her lungs. It has been too long since she had a smoke, not since Natasha had confiscated them all. 

“I think this is the best lunch I’ve ever had,” stated Wanda taking another drag of the smoke. George smirked at her, “that’s another corrupted soul.”

Becky laughed at him, “only we would corrupt the new teacher’s daughter on her first day.”  
“very funny guys,” stated Wanda, “how do you know I wont corrupt you?”

Becky flicked her eyes to the cigarette in her hands. “we will see.”

Wanda laughed with her new friends. They snuck back into the school, and went to the rest of their lessons. 

Wanda jumped into the car with Natasha, and buckled her seatbelt. Natasha looked over to her, “see I told you it wouldn’t be that bad?”

Wanda glanced over at the older woman, “don’t be so smug.”

Natasha shook her head at her, “Never.”

Wanda looked over at her, “would you mind if I walked in on my own tomorrow?”

Natasha looked over at, “I’m sorry Wanda that is not a good idea. I don’t want you on your own, part of the bonus of this school, is it is fenced in, and you have to be buzzed in during school hours. It’s secure.”

Wanda swallowed down her guilt from disappearing off site earlier she hadn’t even thought about the danger element of it. 

“No, it makes sense.” 

Natasha took her hand of the gear stick in the car and rested it on Wanda’s hand. “thanks for understanding.”

That just made her guilt increase manifold. Natasha pulled her hand away and sniffed the air. 

“is that smoke?”

Wanda shrugged slightly, how could she forget that Natasha was like a bloodhound. Natasha waited until they pulled into their parking space. She lifted the handbrake up and turned to the younger girl. 

“Have you been smoking?” Wanda kept her eyes trained on the floor of the car. 

“Wanda look at me now.”

The command made Wanda lift her head up in anger, “Don’t talk to me like that.”

She threw open the car door and slammed it shut. Natasha banged her head against the steering wheel in frustration. She got out of the car, “don’t storm away from me.”

Natasha looked over and saw her neighbour looking over at them. “Young lady I was talking to you.”

Wanda turned back and gave Natasha a grimace, before slamming the front door behind her. 

The elderly woman chortled, “good afternoon.”

Natasha stopped in her tracks, and went over to greet her, “Afternoon, I’m Natalie.”

The older woman nodded at her, “Yes I met your husband this morning, I’m guessing that young firecracker is your daughter Wanda.”

“That’s her alright...” Natasha stated shortly, glancing back towards the house. 

“Seems like a right handful, I’m Dorothy Edwards by the way.”

Natasha smiled warmly at the woman, “it is lovely to meet you, I hope you don’t mind but I have an errant teenager to deal with.”

“I don’t mind at all, best of luck,” she exclaimed with a clap. 

Natasha opened the door, and strode into the house. She dropped her car keys onto the table in the hallway. 

“Wanda, get your butt down here now,” yelled Natasha. 

“Bite me Romanoff,” shouted a voice from upstairs. Natasha took a deep breath to calm herself, “I’m going to give you to the count of three to get down here Wanda. You won’t like what happens if I have to come up there.”

Steve took that moment to walk through the front door, sweaty and wearing shorts and a tank top. He had clearly got back from a run. “Dare I ask what’s going on?”

He retreated into the kitchen and pulled a bottle of water from the fridge. Natasha turned to him abruptly, “we were crazy thinking we would control a teenager.” She turned back to the stairs yelling, “One!”

“Why are we counting?” asked Steve with a smirk, gulping down the water while he waited for a response. 

“She was smoking at school,” replied Natasha, before turning back to the stairs and yelling, “Two!”

“Why don’t you let me go talk to her?”

Natasha shrugged at the man, “If you think you get through to her…” she ran her hand through her short newly blonde locks, “I think I miss the baby…”

Steve smiled at the woman, “let me have a go.”

He slowly climbed the stairs and knocked lightly on the teenager’s door. 

“Fuck off Romanoff!”

Steve coughed and opened the door, just as the teenager jumped up from her bed in annoyance. “Get Ou…” Wanda trailed off when she realised it was Steve. 

“Oh…. hey Steve, sorry i thought you were Nat.”

Steve shook his head and closed the door behind him. “Don’t call her that.”

Wanda looked at him confused, “call her what?”

“Don’t call her Nat. You can’t do that Wanda. She can’t be Mama when it suits you and the second you get angry or disagree with her you call her Nat.”

Wanda looked suitably chastised by Steve’s gentle words. He didn’t raise his voice or say the words with any angry tone. If anything that made the words have more impact. 

“She adores you, and she only wants what is best for you.”

Wanda sat down on her bed and laid back, “I know she does, but she needs to chill out, so I had a smoke it’s not the end of the world.”

Steve went and sat next to her on the bed, “you are too young to smoke, it’s a bad habit and it endangers your welfare. But you know all this Wanda. So I guess what i’m really asking is, why did you do it anyway?”

Wanda shrugged at him.

“I need a better answer than that.”

Wanda sat up and glared at him in frustration, “Maybe i just wanted a smoke.”

Steve sighed at her, he stood up and walked towards her bedroom door, “Well in that case let me go get Natasha so we can discuss your punishment.” 

“It helped me fit in…” burst out Wanda. Steve turned back to the teenager, “Wanda, you don’t need to do that to fit in.”

“Yes I do, I’m the weird European student, imagine if they actually knew the truth,” exclaimed Wanda. 

“The truth is you are amazing Wanda, they would be idiots if they didn’t see that.” Wanda smiled at the man before crossing the room to hug him tightly. Steve wrapped her firmly in his arms. He placed a gentle kiss to her temple.

“Now come on, you owe your mama an apology.”

Wanda paled, “she is going to kill me.”

“No, she likes you too much for that, she will only maim you,” joked Steve back.


	23. Maturity Matters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, second update of the weekend. hope you all enjoy! Your comments really pushed me to update this quickly. I really like the feedback.

Wanda slowly walked down the stairs, feeling like someone on the way to their execution. She entered the kitchen and saw Natasha sat at the kitchen table with her arms firmly crossed across her chest. Wanda looked at the stern woman before dropping her eyes to the floor. 

“I’m sorry Mama,” whispered Wanda, she pushed her toe into the floor, making it circle as a means of distracting herself.

“Come here Wanda,” stated Natasha. She pushed the chair out further away from the table, and beckoned the teenager closer. As soon as she was within reach the older woman pulled the girl down and sat her in her lap. 

“Mama, I’m not a little girl,” moaned Wanda, but she still accepted the affection. Natasha chose not to respond to that. 

“What are you sorry about?”

Wanda groaned, why did Natasha read all those parenting books. “I’m sorry I was rude and disrespectful to you.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow at her, “And…”

“I’m sorry I’m smoked when you told me I wasn’t allowed too,” muttered Wanda, “but I think that’s a silly rule.”

Natasha decided again not to respond to her outburst knowing it would just rile them both up. “Ok, so you understand there are consequences?”

Wanda nodded from her place on the older woman’s lap. Natasha rubbed the teenager’s back, “You are grounded Little one, and you are going to write some lines for us. I think writing 100 times, I will not be rude or disrespectful should help remind you.”

Steve was bustling around the kitchen, heating up some milk, he mixed in the cocoa powder and started whisking the solution. He poured it gently into a mug and then set it on the table in front of Wanda. 

“I still get Hot cocoa?” questioned Wanda innocently. 

“Of course you do, “ replied Natasha with a smirk, placing a kiss to her head. “We aren’t dictators.”

Wanda smiled, but got up out of Natasha’s lap, she moved casually into the seat next to her. Steve went and retrieved some paper and a pen from the kitchen drawer, and placed it in front of her. 

Steve also placed a kiss to the crown of her head, “We will leave you to get started. Have you got any homework?”

Wanda shook her head. “No, not yet. I have a homework diary though that has to be signed every week by a parent.”

Steve nodded, “Ok sweetheart, Your Mama and I will be in the living room. We will check on you in 20 minutes.”

Natasha stood up, “each line needs to be neat and tidy Wanda or it won’t count.”

“I understand,” replied Wanda earnestly. 

……………………………………………………

Natasha shut the living room door behind them, “Did you notice anything suspicious on your run?”

Steve shook his head, “No, we seem clear, though I set the cameras as you requested. we have full CCTV of the whole block and the main route to the school.”

Natasha breathed a sigh of relief, “Do you think they will really hunt us?”

Steve shrugged, “I’m not sure, i think if we stay out of the public eye we can probably live normally.”

Natasha looked at him with concern, “Do you think you can actually do that? It’s not in your nature to hideaway, could you turn your back on the world if it was in danger?”

“We will deal with it as when it occurs,” replied Steve diplomatically, “Hopefully Tony will sort it before then.”

“Are you sure Tony is working for us? Things did all end a bit sour.”

Steve grimaced, “he still knows what is right, i think it’s best that Wanda doesn’t know what happened in Siberia.”

“I agree,” said Natasha. “It will just confuse her. Good work with her earlier though, you even got her to apologise.”

Steve smiled, “I just reasoned with her, she is very similar to you. If i didn’t know any better I would say she is biologically yours.” 

Natasha smirked, “That’s what Clint and Laura said as well.”

“Come on we better go check on her.”

……………………………………………………….  
Writing lines wasn’t incredibly taxing, though she made sure she was writing in her best cursive. Wanda wasn’t sure why she was being so careful with it, but with every stroke of the pen she felt herself feeling better. Though a small modicum of guilt remained in the pit of her stomach, she knew how angry they would be that she left the campus. Ignorance is bliss, she justified it in her head by thinking she would not do it again. Wanda honestly hadn’t considered the danger of her actions, and it was only Natasha’s words that made her realise it. That in itself concerned the witch she was street smart. Growing up during a war meant she was savvier than most, had she forgotten those skills? Was living with pseudo parents making her soft. 

Wanda put the pen down, as her mind spun with thoughts. Natasha reentered the kitchen, and started to cook dinner, putting some pasta onto the boil before turning to face the witch.

“How are you getting on?”

Wanda looked up from the paper and picked up her pen again, “I’m nearly done, Just a couple more left.”

Natasha moved over to the fridge and retrieved the tomatoes and basil, and started to chop them up to make the sauce. 

Wanda scrunched her nose up, “Are we having pasta again? Can’t we have something more eastern European?”

Natasha laughed under her breath, “We are going to need to ease Steve in gently, he’s a Brooklyn boy.”

“Americans,” Wanda muttered under her breath with disdain. 

“Hey watch it you!” joked Steve. He glanced over to Natasha, “white or red?”

Natasha looked thoughtful for the moment, “red, will go better with Pasta.”

He grabbed the bottle opener out of the drawer and started attempting to coax the cork out of the bottle. 

“Can I have some?” asked Wanda.

Steve looked over to Nat questionably who answered for him, “You may have one glass with dinner.”

Natasha learnt a long time ago that if you make something taboo it just makes you want it more. Alcohol was a substance that concerned her with Wanda, but she knew hiding it away or banning it would just make it all the more enticing. 

“I’m done,” stated Wanda, as she gently placed the pen down next to the sheet of paper filled with words. 

Natasha moved away from the stove in order to peruse the document after seeing that it met her approval she responded, “Good Wanda, now why don’t you go get changed out of your uniform? You may as well put on your PJ’s as you will be going straight to bed after dinner.”

“Really Mama?” groaned Wanda.

“Really,” replied Natasha. “You know the rules if you are grounded, early bedtime is in effect.”

“I really wish you would stop reading those parenting books,” stated Wanda dryly.

“Oh no, that’s a Laura Barton special.”

Wanda stood up, “One day you are going to have to tell me some of these stories.”

Natasha laughed as the teenager left the room. Steve walked up behind the woman and wrapped his arms around her waist resting his chin on her shoulder, “I love hearing you laugh.” 

“That bodes well for you,” She replied as she sunk back in his grip. “Are you happy Steve?”

“I’m with you and Wanda how could I not be?”

Steve’s words appeased the Black widow, as they both knew they wouldn’t be living this domestic life if it wasn’t for the teenager. They would probably both be out fighting crime, moving from safe house to safe house. Natasha continued to stir the pot of sauce.

“You two are so cute,” stated Wanda as she walked back into the kitchen, now dressed in the Pyjama bottoms and a tank top. She walked over to the oven and put it on before going to retrieve the garlic bread from the fridge. 

Steve looked at the teenager, “I was about to do that.”

Wanda snorted in response, “that would require you removing your hand from my Mama’s ass.”

Steve blushed at the words. “Don’t be mean to the fossilised gentleman Wanda, you know he can’t handle your modern jip.”

“Jip?” asked Steve.

“Means she is being a little jerk,” replied Natasha with a smirk. “Can you set the table please Wanda?”

“What did your last slave die of?” responded Wanda with sass. 

“Do you want to find out?” stated Natasha without missing a beat. Wanda giggled but retrieved the cutlery and place mats. The group were soon sat down and eating together. Wanda couldn’t help but smile as she glanced over at the two parental figures in her life. She could not ever remember feeling this safe. “Wanda your dinner will get cold, stop staring off into space.”

“Sorry Mama,” replied the witch before digging into the plate. she then lifted up the small glass of wine by her plate and took an experimental sniff before sipping at the dark red liquid. She crunched her face up slightly at the bitterness. “You like this?”

Natasha laughed at the teenager, “Yes, you generally prefer Red wine as you get older and your taste buds develop.”

“Or it’s like a case of the emperors’s new clothes and you all tell yourselves that and secretly no-one actually likes it, but no-one will admit it.”

Steve snorted in laughter, “You have got spunk kid.”

“Don’t we both know it.”

After dinner was finished and the dishes had been successfully washed and packed away. Natasha turned to the teenager, “Go on you, brush your teeth and to bed.”

“You can’t be serious? It’s not even 9pm yet.”

“I’m being very serious, go on.”

Wanda huffed slightly but followed the instructions though she stomped slightly to show her displease. 

Natasha turned to Steve, “Weather forecast says there will be a thunder storm tonight.”

“No sex for me tonight then,” Joked Steve. Fully aware that a thunder storm meant at the some point during the night a teenager was going to end up in their bed. 

“That’s why I made sure we had sex this morning,” replied Natasha with a sultry smirk. 

“We could always have a quickie down here once she’s in bed.”

“Yeah I would rather not risk mentally scarring our teenager. No-one wants to see their parents going at it.”

Their playful banter was interrupted by the sound of a Nokia ringtone. Natasha looked at Steve in alarm, “is that Tony’s phone?”

Steve nodded before reaching into the drawer and retrieving the phone. He answered the phone with no greeting he just went straight to the point with, “What’s wrong?”

………………………..

Wanda sat cross legged on her bed, surprised that one of the adults had not been into her room yet. She was sat with her laptop in front of her, Wikipedia was one of her favourite things. she could spend hours just trawling through different subjects each link taking her to another one. She always ended up so removed from where she started. The knowledge at her fingertips was intoxicating, even though she knew wikipedia was not the most reliable of sources. 

She looked over at her bedroom clock and saw the 9:30PM flashing at her in red. Wanda was very surprised that no-one had been to tuck her in yet, as much as she moaned about it she found it very comforting. She closed her laptop up and left the room heading towards the stairs, stopping at the bottom when she heard hushed whispering. 

“What are we going to do?” asked Steve.

“We can’t say no Steve, we would want them to do the same for us,” explained Natasha. 

“How are we going to explain it though?”

“We will say he is our nephew coming to stay for a while,” stated Natasha firmly. “We need to do this.”

Wanda pushed open the door to the kitchen, “What are you talking about?”

Natasha and Steve were sat at the table, “You should be in bed little one.”

Wanda crossed her arms trying to look stern, “No, what are you talking about?”

Steve sighed, but Natasha replied, “It’s not your concern, you need to go back to bed.”

“Don’t do that, don’t treat me like a naughty child. I need to know what is going on, I deserve better than that,” replied Wanda keeping her tone even. 

Natasha sighed but pulled out the chair next to her. Wanda nodded and went and sat next to the older woman. Her measured response finally paid dividends. 

“Peter is in trouble,” explained Steve. “he has been caught up in the accords, or more correctly Spiderman has been caught up in the accords. Tony doesn’t want him to get compromised.”

“What does that have to do with us?” asked Wanda her tone reduced the harshness of her words. 

“Tony wants him to come into hiding with us,” stated Natasha.

“What about his Aunt though?”

“He thinks Ross has already figured out that Peter is Spiderman. I mean Tony doesn’t exactly have a lot of interns does he? It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that the Spiderman who turned up in Berlin may be the the only intern that Tony has.”

“Then what are questioning?” asked Wanda, “Surely we will take him?”

Wanda looked curiously at the two adults and saw the slight trepidation on Steve’s face. “You think it’s a trap,” she stated.

Steve reached over and grabbed Wanda’s hand. Neither adult said anything so Wanda continued to talk. “Why would we not take the risk though? it’s for Peter.”

Natasha exhaled heavily, “we want to but we will not put you at any risk.”

“Ohh,” said Wanda sadly.

“You are our number one priority, we will always want to help others, but you always come first.”

Wanda tried to discreetly wipe her eyes, as she felt the tears build up. “I’ve never come first.”

“You do with us,” said Steve firmly, “We will do everything in our power to help Peter. I’m going to go and try and meet them. You and your mama are going to stay here.”

Wanda nodded, “But wouldn’t my powers be helpful if it is a trap?”

Natasha shook her head, and pulled the teenager into her body from her position on the chair. “No, Steve can handle it. Wanda we are trusting you by involving you in this discussion, but you can’t influence the outcome.”

Wanda nodded, “but what if you get caught?”

Natasha and Steve looked at each other sadly, “if I get caught, then I’m caught. You and your mama will continue without me.”

Wanda shook her head, “No, we will rescue you.” She appealed to Natasha hoping she would agree with her. Wanda was saddened when she saw a resignation on her face. 

“Wanda, we got lucky on the last rescue we had the element of surprise, we will never have that again. This is why we have to be so careful,” explained Steve gently. 

“When are you meeting them?” asked Wanda.

“Tomorrow,” replied Steve.

“What are we going to do?” questioned Wanda.

Natasha interrupted the conversation, “we are going to go to school as normal.”

Wanda’s stomach turned considerably, “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You are not going to, I promise you I will be careful,” stated Steve.

Natasha stood up holding Wanda’s hand, “now come on you, it’s bedtime.”

Steve released the hand he was holding and Wanda got to her feet. she leaned into the older woman, “Ok…”

Steve stood up as well, and followed them up the stairs. Wanda crawled into her bed, Natasha sat on the bed next to her with Steve the other side. 

“I won’t be able to sleep,” exclaimed Wanda as Natasha ran her finger’s through her hair. 

“Don’t worry about it now,” replied Steve. “Don’t worry about something you can’t control.”

“But I could control it if I was there,” said Wanda pulling her hand out of the duvet, and showed them the red wisps of energy flicking from her fingertips. 

“No,” stated Natasha firmly. “I’m not playing around Wanda, we have trusted you with what is going on. You need to trust us. This is your opportunity to show your maturity.”

Wanda retracted her hand and buried it back under the duvet. “No I understand Mama.”

“Does being mature mean I can’t be scared?”

“No sweetheart you are allowed to be scared, just don’t act irrationally in your fear,” explained Natasha, she leaned over and kissed the teenager’s forehead. 

“Everything is going to be fine,” stated Steve, who mimicked Natasha’s action.


	24. Masking the Moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay was my birthday this week so I had to be semi-sociable for a change. Rather than my usual lock myself into a room and type away in the dark approach to life. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate your feedback and inputs.

Wanda stared at the clock, she was willing the minute hand to move around the face. This day was dragging on, she tapped the pen in her hand onto the table restlessly. She looked back to the whiteboard in front of her attempting to pay attention to the words that were being written on it. English literature was her least favourite class. Maths she could manage it was a universal language. Her english was not poor by any standard, but she lacked the nuance to be able to dissect the greats works of literature. In her mother tongue she had excelled, but now she found herself struggling towards the bottom of the class. 

This point irked her, as if english was some superior language that the rest of the world had to obey. She glanced down to the book in front of her “The merchant’s Tale.” It wasn’t even really english it was medieval english. She cursed Chaucer under her breath, as she struggled to understand the language, though it pleased her to see her contemporaries also struggling to make sense of the words on the page. 

Wanda glared back at the clock on the wall, how had less than thirty seconds passed. She had nervously watched Steve leave that morning. Natasha had even kissed him longer than they usually did when they parted. Wanda sensed the tension, the underlying fear. She could not focus on the lesson. Her stomach was in knots as she struggled to cope with the anxiety that grew. 

The bell rang, as she exhaled heavily in relief. She gathered her books and threw them haphazardly into her bag. Wanda rushed to the faculty staff room and knocked on the door. An older teacher she didn’t recognise came to the front, “if you need to speak to a teacher you need to catch them in the classrooms not here.”

Wanda sneered at the woman, “I need to speak to Mrs Rushman.”

“She is entitled to a break from students.”

“Would you just shut up and get her,” shouted Wanda in annoyance her emotions coming through. 

Natasha hearing the noise made her way to the door, “Maggie everything ok?”

She pulled open the door and took in the sight of her emotional teenager, “Maggie Can I borrow your office?”

The older woman nodded and Natasha led the teenager into the office shutting the door firmly behind them. 

“What’s wrong Wanda?”

“Have you heard anything from him?” asked Wanda.

“No not yet Wanda, It’s still early. You need to calm down sweetheart.”

“Can we just go home?”

Natasha shook her head, “You can worry at home or you can worry at school. At least here you have work to take your mind off it. Focus on your school work.”

“I can’t focus on anything Mama!”

Wanda wrapped her arms around the woman and rested her head on Natasha’s chest. 

“Relax baby… Now go get some lunch. Everything is going to be fine…”

……………………………………………………

Wanda rushed out of the car and bombed straight into their little house. She entered the kitchen and smiled when she saw Peter and Steve sat at the table. Wanda threw herself into his arms burying her head into his neck. 

“I’m fine Wanda, it all went fine.”

Wanda didn’t reply she just inhaled his scent deeply. She took a few minutes before turning to face Peter. 

“Hey Parker.”

Wanda took in the tired sad expression on the teen’s face and finally released her grip of Steve. She walked around the table an embraced the boy, “I’ve missed you spider-boy.”

Natasha walked into the kitchen and pulled Steve up from the chair capturing him in a passionate kiss. She then turned her attention to other side of the table.

“It’s good to see you Peter, I wish it was under better circumstances.”

Peter nodded in agreement, “Me too Aunty Nat.”

Wanda pulled away from the teenager boy, “So what happened Peter?”

“Wanda let him settle,” rebuked Natasha, “has Steve showed you, your room?”

Peter nodded.

“Ok sweetheart, why don’t we have some dinner and watch a film?”

Wanda frowned at the term of endearment being used to address Peter. 

“Wanda go get changed out of your uniform, and this time fold it up on your chair, I’m not ironing your blazer again.”

“But you love ironing Mama!” joked Wanda. Natasha narrowed her eyes at the teen playfully. “Go on…”

After Wanda had left the room, Natasha turned her attention to the other teenager. She walked over to him and placed a kiss on his head, the affection was enough to break the last wall the boy had up. He threw himself into Natasha’s arms sobbing. 

“You are ok Peter, you are safe with us. We will keep you safe. It won’t be for long, you will see everyone again soon,” she cajoled keeping her tone soft. Peter just gripped the older woman tighter, like he was scared to let go. Natasha sat on the chair pulling the teenager onto her lap, Peter just went along with the action. She stroked his hair gently, “you know Steve makes the best hot cocoa in the world.”

Steve took the hint to go over to the stove and start heating the milk up. Peter started to calm himself down, and now looked embarrassed. He went to stand up but Natasha held him in place. He used his sleeve to wipe some of his tears away, “Sorry…”

“Don’t apologise little spider, you’ve had quite the few days. ”

Peter relaxed again into the older woman’s arms, neither said anything as Steve bustled around the kitchen. Eventually he placed the mug in front of the teenager. Wanda took that moment to reappear now dressed in sweatpants and one of Steve’s hoodies. She walked in surveying the domestic scene in front of her. Her stomach felt heavy as if she had swallowed lead. Wanda couldn’t place the emotion she was feeling. Watching Peter drink her Hot cocoa while sat on her Mama’s lap. Jealously was not something she had really experienced before, she understood Envy. Growing up in a war torn country with the benefits of technology meant she had some understanding of what others had. But this sensation of zealous vigilance and protectiveness she felt over her parents was new. 

Steve noticed the flash of emotions across the younger girl’s face as she walked into the room, and logged it in his memory to discuss with Natasha later. He decided to break the silence in the room, “Why don’t we order pizza tonight?”

Natasha nodded, ‘and we can put on a film. What do you fancy Pete?”

Peter looked thoughtful for a moment. “Can we watch lion king?”

If the two adults were surprised by his choice they did a good job of hiding it, but Wanda just rolled her eyes, “Disney?? Really? I think I’ll give that a miss. I’m going to watch Buffy in my room.”

Natasha shook her head, “No you are not. You know you are not allowed to watch TV in your room. Plus you are grounded, so you can watch a film with us, or you can go to bed.”

Natasha had always strictly enforced the no tv in the bedroom rule, she framed it to young witch as being because she wanted her bedroom to be a place of rest and that she wanted her to socialise. It was a good cover for the truth. Natasha knew Wanda still suffered from flashbacks and nightmares, therefore she wanted to carefully monitor what the young woman was watching. Especially before she went to sleep. The truth was carefully concealed from the teenager as Natasha knew Wanda would not react well to her protectiveness. 

Wanda scrunched her nose up at the older woman’s words. “Well can I watch it in the kitchen then,” she sassed. 

Natasha narrowed her eyes at the teenager, “I would watch your attitude.”

Wanda blushed at the remonstration in front of Peter. 

……………………………………………………………………..

Wanda cuddled into Steve on the sofa, the four of them were all squashed onto the small sofa. Natasha and Steve in the middle with a teenager on either side. Wanda felt safe her head resting on the man’s shoulder, though she kept looking our of the corner of her eye at the two other occupants of the sofa. It soured her mood seeing Peter snuggling with Natasha. 

Natasha was hers, she had always been her, she had never really had to share her before. Steve did not count in her mind. As the circle of life played over the end of the movie Wanda made no effort to move. Steve stretched slightly and stroked her head softly, “come on Wands it’s bed time.”

Wanda shook her head against his shoulder, “I’m not tired.”

“You might not be tired, but you still have an early bedtime.”

Wanda looked over to Peter, “What about him?”

Natasha spoke up, “Him has a name, and Peter is not grounded. So go on Missy up you go.”

Wanda glared at them, “Fine I’ll leave you to it.”

She stomped up the stairs and Natasha sighed. Peter glanced from his seat, “It’s ok I’m pretty tired anyway….”

“Don’t worry about it Peter. Wanda is fine. She is just being a teenager,” replied Natasha. 

…………………………………..

Wanda became increasingly cold and isolated from the others. She wasn’t rude or disrespectful just distant. Peter starting at the same school did not seem to help matters. Wanda stopped being tactile entirely she no longer wrapped her arms around either adult for comfort or in jest. Natasha followed the two teenagers into the house, after another tiring day at the school. Teaching kids was exhausting Natasha, thought not as much as her growing concern for her daughter. 

Wanda hung her bag up on the hook in the hallway, before walking into the kitchen to grab a a bottle of water from the fridge. Peter hung up his own back and followed her route. Natasha removed her high heels and flung them into the cupboard grateful that it was the end of another week. 

“Do you guys have any homework?”

Peter shook his head, “I did mine in the library at school.”

Natasha nodded in acceptance. “Wanda?”

She shrugged, “I have an english assignment, I’ll be in my room.”

Wanda shut the door to the fridge behind her, and went to leave the room.

“Do you need any help?” asked Natasha kindly.

“No thank you.”

Peter looked sheepishly at the older woman as he observed the sad expression on her face. 

“I’m sorry Aunty Nat.”

“Don’t be sorry Peter, you haven’t done anything wrong,” stated Natasha forlornly. 

“She doesn’t talk to me at school,” explained Peter. “She pretends she doesn’t know me.”

Natasha sighed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”

“She doesn’t want me here,” said Peter sadly. 

“No sweetheart, she even said how much she wanted to see you.”

Peter exhaled heavily, “Then why can’t she stand to be in the same room as me.”

………………………………………….

Wanda coughed into her hand in her room, she felt awful. She chugged down some more water hoping it would supply some relief to her sore and aching throat. Her chest heaved in pain. Wanda stared at her reflection in the mirror on her bedside table. She had felt sick for the last fews days, she assumed it was just a cold, but she seemed to be getting worse. Her make-up was doing a good job of hiding her pale waxy complexion, as did strategic use of her powers. 

She pulled out her chair and sat at the desk, leaning her head forward she rested her forehead on her hands. Wanda knew logically she was sick and should just go and ask for help. Her pride was getting the better of her, and even though on a level she knew she was being irrational. Her fear of being replaced by Peter reverberated through her body. It was controlling the majority of her decisions. She stood up wearily and went to change out of uniform throwing the discarded clothes into the laundry basket in the corner of her room. 

Once she was changed she headed down the hallway to the small office that was set up. She knocked lightly on the door waiting for Steve to give permission for her to enter. The small study was out of bounds to both teenagers much to their annoyance. She heard Steve moving around inside the room, and then the door open to her.

“Hey Wanda you had a good day at school?”

Wanda nodded, “Is it ok if I pop out for a bit. Just want to go for a walk.”

Steve furrowed his brow slightly, he looked back towards the window, even though the winter months were approaching it was still relatively light out. 

“I don’t know Wanda, I’m not sure you should be out on your own. Why don’t you take Peter or your mother with you?”

Wanda looked at the older man dropping her chin slightly and then said the magic word, “please Daddy.”

Steve melted in that moment, “OK Sweetheart, but be back in 30 minutes that’s it.”  
Wanda knew she was being manipulative in her response, but it got her what she wanted. She headed down the stairs and grabbed her coat from the hook next to her school bag. Natasha poked her head around the door, “Where do you think you are going?”

Wanda carried on putting her coat on, “Steve said I could go out for a walk for 30 minutes, so I’ll be back in a bit.”

Natasha did a double take clearly unhappy with this, but Wanda knew she would not want to undermine Steve. “Ok be careful and make sure you are back within the 30 minutes.”

Wanda watched her press some buttons on her watch, she rolled her eyes at the older woman of course she was setting a timer. Wanda left the house and took a deep breath of the fresh autumn air. 

Natasha meanwhile climbed the stairs in annoyance and headed straight for the study. She didn’t even bother to start the conversation with a greeting.

“Why did you let Wanda out on her own??”

Steve blushed slightly under the questioning, “It’s just 30 minutes Nat….”

Natasha narrowed her eyes and looked the man up and down several times. The realisation dawned on her and she rolled her eyes dramatically, “she called you Daddy didn’t she…”

Steve nodded weakly, “She was so sweet though.”

Natasha laughed weakly, “she can play you like a piano Steve. You know I don’t want her out on her own.”

Steve shrugged slightly, “That’s why she asked me. We have to give her some freedom Nat, and don’t worry I’m keeping an eye on her.”

He beckoned the woman over to the desk he was sitting at pointing towards the monitors. Natasha looked at the footage, and watched as Wanda walked down the street. 

“Has Wanda seemed off to you? It’s like she is avoiding physical contact? I don’t want to push it on her, but it just seems strange she has always craved it before,” asked Natasha.

Steve nodded, “yeah she seems to be keeping her distance, maybe she is just trying to reassert herself as a teenager? We do both baby her a bit.”

They both watched the screens, Natasha slipped an arm around Steve and then dropped into his lap. She leaned forward looking at the pixelated screen, “has she just walked into a pharmacy?”

………………………………..

Wanda entered the brightly lit pharmacy, overwhelmed slightly by the amount of products on display. She headed over to the cold/flu section and started perusing the different brightly coloured packages. There were so many different types of Cough Syrups, dry, tickly, chesty. Which one was she supposed to get? Then there was night medicine and day medicine. Nasal sprays, throat sprays, and what was ibuprofen? She picked up several of the packets hoping to deduce what she needed. 

Wanda just wanted the cough to stop, it was getting harder and harder to hide. She was struggling to maintain her powers. She knew she would slip soon. Her eyes scanned more boxes and she stopped on the words “cough suppressant.” She picked up the box, and then grabbed some throat spray as well. Content with her purchases she headed over to the counter. Wanda paid and stuffed the medicines into her coat pocket. She begrudged slightly how expensive they were. Steve and Natasha never gave her a lot of money just a bit for lunches. So now she couldn’t eat lunch at least twice next week. 

She walked back into the house, ten minutes later feel thoroughly exhausted by the journey. Natasha greeted her from the kitchen, “Hey Sweetheart, did you have a nice walk?”

Wanda nodded even though she knew the older woman couldn’t see her. “yeah just went around the block.”

Natasha kept her eyes focused on the pan in front of her, upset by the lie but choosing to not call her out on it. She knew it was in her best interests to keep Wanda in the dark about the cameras so therefore could not show her hand prematurely. 

“We are having Sir-fry for dinner. Do you want chicken or Steak?”

Wanda shook her head as she leaned on the kitchen doorway, “I’m not really hungry Mama, if it’s ok I’m going to just go lay down with a book.”

Natasha stepped towards the teen, who instinctively stepped back keeping a space between them.  
“You feeling ok Malyshka?”

“Of course just a long day at school,” she replied. Natasha removed the pan from the flame and placed it on the side to prevent the food burning. 

“Baby you have not been yourself the last week, what’s bothering you?”

Wanda shook her head, “honestly Mama I’m fine, just tired from school.”

“Ok Well Peter is playing on the playstation in the living room, why don’t you curl up on the sofa with a book then?”

“No I’ll think I’ll just be in my room,” replied Wanda.

“You have been locking yourself in your room all week. I would rather you spend some time downstairs Wanda.”

Wanda crossed her arms across her chest, “Steve is in the study what is the difference?”

“He is working Wanda, and when dinner is ready. we will eat as a family and then he will spend the rest of the evening with us.”

“You,” said Wanda simply.

Natasha looked at the teenager curiously, “you what?”

“You misspoke, he will spend the rest of the evening with you, not us,” explained Wanda matter of factly. 

Natasha groaned at the sassy teenager, “You are spending the evening with us Wanda and that is final. I’m fed up of you hiding out in your room.”

“Fine. I’ll be in the living room then.”


	25. In Sickness and In Health

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the birthday wishes! I hope you enjoy this little update as a sign of my gratitude.

Wanda sat on the arm chair away from the other three on the sofa. She kept discreetly looking up from her book and watching as Natasha ran her hands through Peter’s brown hair. She turned back to her book, to continue to read Holden Caulfield’s random diatribe about “Phonys.”

Steve looked up from his place on the sofa, “How are you finding the book?’

“It’s good,” replied Wanda shortly. 

Natasha decided to attempt to join the conversation, “What do you think of the narrative?”

“I like his version of events,” stated Wanda not looking up from the books.

Natasha sat up from her prone position on the sofa, “You understand that his perception of the events are not actually correct or right.”

Wanda shook her head, “perception can’t be wrong. Perception is reality.”

Steve sat up at that comment, “You know better than most that’s not true, your powers allow you to change someone’s perception.”

“Exactly,” replied Wanda, still keeping her nose in the book. Steve looked nervously at Natasha. She gently nudged Peter into Steve’s arm, the boy lolled asleep into the man. “I’m going to take him to bed.”

Steve lifted Peter into his arms and carried him up the stairs. Natasha stood up and approached the teenage girl in the armchair. She ran her eyes over her and noticed her tense posture. She was not relaxed, she could see her muscles shaking slightly in strain. 

“You ok Wanda?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she shut her book with a flourish, “As Peter has already gone to bed, is it ok if I go to bed now?”

Wanda was exhausted, keeping up the facade up being ok was getting increasingly taxing. Her head was spinning. 

Natasha crouched down in front of the teenager, “Why don’t you come and sit with me for a bit?”

She reached out to touch Wanda’s hand, but she dropped it to her lap to avoid the contact. Wanda diverted her head down to avoid the hurt expression on Natasha’s face. 

“Sweetheart, What’s going on?”

Wanda just shook her head, Natasha stood up from her crouched position in front of the witch. “Ok Baby.”

She then leaned over and placed a kiss to Wanda’s forehead, with her position on the armchair there was no credible way for Wanda to avoid the contact. 

Natasha pulled away in shock. The heat emanating from the teenager was incredible. Natasha sat on the arm of the chair, and rested her hand on the back of Wanda’s forehead. Steve took the moment to reappear in the room. Natasha turned to him sternly, “Steve can you go get the thermometer out of our bathroom?”

“The ear one?”

Natasha nodded, “Yes that one.”

She turned her attention back to the teenager, “Wanda why didn’t you tell us you were feeling sick?”

“I’m fine Mama, just a cold,” replied Wanda. 

“You are a furnace Wanda,” stated Natasha in annoyance. “You should have told us.”

Steve returned with the box and handed it to Natasha. She opened up the sealed box, and pulled out the contraption. Wanda looked at it with trepidation, “you are not putting that near me.”

“I need to take your temperature Wanda. I either take it here or I’ll take you to the hospital for a Doctor to do it.”

Wanda crossed her arms across her chest, “That’s an empty threat, you won’t risk exposing us.”

Steve turned his head to hide his smirk the teenager was so similar to Natasha. 

“Wanda Scarlett Maximoff! I’ve had enough of this. You are behaving like a child.”

Wanda went to stand up, Natasha allowed her to think she was letting her get up and then used the moment to put her off balance. In a quick manoeuvre, Natasha was sat on the armchair with Wanda on her lap. She cuddled the teenager into her. “What’s wrong sweetheart? You just not been feeling well.”

Natasha cradled the teenager into her chest, while gesturing with her other hand for Steve to finish getting the thermometer ready. She stroked her hair and face tenderly. Wanda shook her head, burying her face further into Natasha’s body. She had deprived herself of any contact for over a week and now she couldn’t control herself from seeking it. Wanda’s body started to relax, and as she did the facade started to fall. She coughed and spluttered slightly, Natasha pushed her away from her body and rubbed her back soothingly. 

“How long have you been sick for?”

Wanda just continued to shake her head while coughing slightly. “Wanda I need an answer baby.”

“I’m not sick,” she replied stubbornly. Natasha sighed, she held her free hand out to Steve, who passed her the thermometer. With her other hand she tucked Wanda’s hair behind her ear, so she could gain access. Wanda jerked abruptly away from the woman.

“Wanda stop being silly. I need to take your temperature. What’s your issue? It won’t hurt I promise,” asked Natasha getting exacerbated. 

“I’m not sick,” Wanda stated again, she startled to struggle in Natasha’s grip. 

“Wanda, there are other ways I can take you temperature…” She threatened. 

She stilled her movements, “like how?”

“None that you will like I promise you,” explained Natasha sternly. Wanda looked at Steve in confusion, who was blushing. 

The realisation dawned on her, “you wouldn’t.”

“I will if you don’t pack this in…”

Wanda glared at the woman, but stayed still long enough for her to place the device in her ear. She waited patiently for the beep. Natasha showed the result to Steve the concern showing on her face. She whispered into his ear and he nodded in approval. 

Wanda questioned, “what did it say?”

“104, sweetheart. You are sick. I want to know why you have been hiding this. This could be a dangerous fever, I am not happy with you right now.”

Wanda snorted, “I can look after myself. I had it under control.”  
“yeah?” asked Natasha in anger. “How exactly did you have it in control?”

“I went and bought my own medicine.”

Natasha glared at the teenager, “have you taken anything yet??”

“No, I was going to take it tonight but you wouldn’t let me go to my room,” said Wanda her voice dripping in sarcasm. 

“Good thing I didn’t. You know you are not allowed to self-medicate. Wanda, you have allergies.” 

“I checked the packages, I’m not an idiot,” retorted Wanda. 

“We are in a foreign country Wanda, I know they speak english here, but things have different names and different terms. The rules exist for a good reason. I am very disappointed in you.”

Wanda pulled away from the woman, “well I’m disappointed in you. Did you ever think about that? Why don’t you go talk to the kid that never disappoints you and is perfect in every way.”

Natasha felt her anger drain away at the teenager’s words, “What do you mean Wanda?”

“You heard me,” she answered in between heaving coughs. 

“Ok, I don’t think now is the time for this conversation,” replied Natasha tiredly, rubbing Wanda’s back as she continued to cough and splutter. She stood up holding the weight of the teenager. Wanda squirmed in her arms, “Mama put me down.”

“No chance,” Natasha said firmly. She carefully and slowly climbed the stairs while carrying the teenager’s dead weight. Natasha tucked her into the bed, as Steve followed them in carrying a tray with some tissues and medication on it. She started measuring out the various solutions. Wanda spoke up from the bed, “I have my own medication in my coat pocket.”

Natasha shook head in annoyance, “You bought the wrong stuff Wanda.”

She handed the first lot of medicine to her. Wanda held it suspiciously and took an experimental sniff, before scrunching up her nose. “I don’t like Cherry.”

“I don’t care,” replied Natasha. “I swear to god Wanda you are seriously pushing your luck. Sick or not if you don’t start doing as you are told, I will take you over my knee right now.”

Steve decided to intervene at the moment, “Ok I think everyone is getting a bit emotional. Wanda take your medicine please. Nat take a moment to calm down love.”

Natasha took a deep breath, “I’m sorry Wanda, I didn’t mean that. I just don’t understand any of this. Why would you not just tell us you were sick?”  
Wanda looked away awkwardly, “I didn’t want to be any trouble. I’m already too much trouble.”

Natasha softened as she handed the next cup of medicine to the teenager, “You are not too much trouble Wanda. Why would you think that?”

“Peter never gets in any trouble,” explained Wanda.

Steve laughed at that, “Oh trust me Peter gets in enough trouble. I’m sure if you asked him he would tell you.”

“It never seems like that. I’m just the screw up you are stuck with, especially now you have a real kid.”

Natasha sat down next to Wanda, “You are my real kid Wanda. Peter is my nephew and I love him. You are my daughter and I love you. You may test me sometimes but I wouldn’t want you any other way.”

Natasha watched as Wanda downed the shot glass of medicine cringing as she did, “that was disgusting.”

Natasha laughed at her softly, “it doesn’t need to taste nice it just needs to work. Now lay down sweetheart.”

She turned to Steve, “I’m going to stay here tonight so I can keep an eye on her fever.”

“You don’t need to do that Mama,” expressed Wanda weakly. Natasha turned back to the teenager, “Do you really think I’m going to leave you on your own when you are sick?”

Wanda blushed under the attention but was secretly enjoying being the centre of Natasha’s universe again.

“Steve can you grab us a few bottle of waters, I need to make sure she stays hydrated. She doesn’t drink enough anyway.”

“Mama,” whined Wanda, “don’t talk about me like I’m not here.”

Steve walked over to where the teenager way laying on the bed, “Be a good girl for your Mama ok?”

Wanda nodded, “I will daddy.”

………………………………….

Natasha had a rough night. Wanda seemed to get worse as the hours passed. The coughing became more persistent. Natasha hated seeing Wanda in pain, she stroked her hair and rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort the upset teenager. She ended up lifting the girl out of the bed and sitting in the rocking chair they had purchased. Laying down seemed to make the cough worse. Wanda snuggled further into the woman who just continued to mutter in Russian trying to soothe her with a lullaby. Natasha reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the thermometer of the side and placed it into the delirious teenager’s ear. Natasha looked at the numbers on the LCD screen. “Baby you are too hot.”

She noticed her t-shirt was drenched with sweat from Wanda’s body. Natasha reached over the bedside table and placed a lukewarm flannel on the girl’s head. She hissed in relief and relaxed further into the hold. “I need you too drink some more water.”

Wanda shook her head in disgust, her pounding head meant she didn’t even want to move. Natasha just held of the bottle of water out and helped the girl sip it slowly. Wanda tried to escape her grip tiredly. “Wanda it’s ok sweetheart, drink this and then you can go to sleep.”

She heaved and coughed some more, wiping her face on Natasha’s t-shirt. Natasha just grabbed some tissues of the side and wiped away at the excess mucus. 

“I am so disgusting,” whimpered Wanda. 

“No you are not, now stop talking….”

………………………………………………………….

When Wanda woke up the following morning, she no longer felt like an inferno. Her cough felt heavy on her chest, but she felt significantly cooler. She noticed she was alone, and now laying back in her bed. The door opened and in walked Natasha holding a mug of herbal tea. 

“Good morning sleeping beauty,” Natasha marched over and placed a gentle kiss to Wanda’s head, resting the mug on the bedside table.

‘How are you feeling?”

Wanda looked at her in surprise, “I’m feeling better… actually.”

Natasha sat down on the bed next to her, “Now imagine how much better you could have been, had you told me you were sick days ago.”

Wanda blushed and avoided eye contact. Natasha continued to speak, “So are you going to explain to me why you decided to be a martyr?”

Wanda shook her head in response, she reached over to the bedside table and took a small sip of the herbal tea. 

“Ok then Wanda, you need to stay in bed all day. You may be feeling better but you were quite sick. I'm going to go make you some toast.”

……………………………………………..

Wanda was bored, laying in bed all day was not exactly her style. She was feeling fine now, but she knew that now was not the time to test Natasha’s patience. A small knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, and a sheepish Peter entered the room.

“Hey…”

“Hi,” replied Wanda equally as awkwardly. 

“So how you feeling?” asked Peter trying to find a topic of conversation.

“Been better, been worse,” stated Wanda. The two teenagers continued to just loiter in the room, neither really knowing what to say.

“Why is this so awkward?” Wanda finally asked. Peter shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets. 

Wanda finally decided to change tact, “so what happened in New York anyway? Why are you here?”

Peter perked up at this, “well, someone was using alien tech to make weapons and wait no.. it started with a date and then well I blew up a stark plane…”

Wanda sat up in interest, “wait what? Start at the beginning Parker.”

Peter walked over and sat on the end of Wanda’s bed. Natasha listened with Steve from the hallway, smiling at each other, as the teens continued their animated conversation. They walked away from the pair of them.

“You realise they are both going to be more of a handful now they are back as partners in crime,” said Steve with an air of amusement. 

“Of course,” replied Natasha, “But we are Avengers, I’m sure we can manage two 16 year olds.” 

Steve laughed out loud, “Maybe you can….”

……………………………………………..

Wanda laughed out loud at Peter’s last comment, which she realised was a mistake as a coughing fit overtook her. Peter held out the bottle of water once Wanda had got her breathing back under control. She gratefully took the bottle from his outstretched hand. “Thanks Peter.”

“No offence Wanda, but you sound like crap,” stated Peter. 

“It’s just a cold,” replied Wanda will a roll of her eyes. Natasha took that moment to enter the bedroom. 

“I think it’s a bit more than a cold Wanda,” she bustled over to her bed and picked up the thermometer before gently putting the device into the teenager’s ear. Wanda for once didn’t fight or squirm against the action, which Natasha took as a positive sign. The young witch was obviously feeling better. Wanda waited for the beep before asking the question, “So can I get out of bed yet?”

“No,” came the short response, “Your temperature is down, but I’ve heard your coughing throughout the house.” 

Wanda turned red, “I’m trying to control it.”

Natasha smiled warmly at the kid, “you don’t need to control it sweetheart, if you need to cough just cough. Now come on Peter you can help me make lunch, while Wanda has a rest.”


	26. A Vision in Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello People, just the one update this weekend. Unfortunately my work/life balance has taken a considerable hit. I'm currently working a 70 hour plus week. So writing has taken a back seat slightly, but I will endeavour to always update at least once a week. Thank you for you patience, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Wanda woke up feeling slightly disorientated, a comforting hand was running through her hair. She snuggled into the source instantly recognising the smell that was uniquely Natasha.   
She sighed in satisfaction, “hey Mama.”

“Hey sweetheart,” replied the older woman from her position perched on the bed. Wanda looked lovingly up at the spy.

“I’ve missed you,” she stated softly. 

“How can you have missed me? I haven’t gone anyway,” joked Natasha, while continuing her ministrations. 

Wanda blushed, “I mean…I…”

“You mean your self-imposed exile,” said Natasha knowingly. Wanda seemed to flush redder in embarrassment. Natasha just continued to speak, “Which we still need to discuss properly.”

Wanda shook her head and turned her body away from the woman, “No thanks.”

Natasha just smirked at the childish action, she patted the teenager’s bottom reassuringly, “come on you, we need to talk about this.”

Wanda just pulled the duvet over her head in response. Natasha just yanked it back down showing the witch’s face. “Wanda..”

“Can’t I just blame the fever,” replied Wanda with a cute smile. Natasha’s heart melted a little at the adorable look on her face. Wanda definitely seemed to be younger now, or more precisely acting her age. 

“Wanda talk to me….”

Wanda looked away awkwardly, “I was jealous of..” her sentence trailed off, as Natasha strained her ears to hear her. 

“I didn’t catch that,” stated Natasha firmly.

“I was jealous of Peter,” snapped out Wanda quickly.

“I see,” stated Natasha clearing considering Wanda’s words. “Wanda you are my baby you have nothing to be jealous of…”

“I don’t like sharing you,” replied Wanda, “I’ve always had to share everything. I mean that’s what happens when you are twin, but I’ve never had to share you. You have always been mine.”

“I’m yours hey?”quirked Natasha with an amused eyebrow raise. “Do you remember when I first started caring for you and you hated it?”

“You wore me down,” joked Wanda. Natasha pulled the girl into her body, “You are my baby Wanda, whether Peter is here or not.”

“Mama, I’m not a baby,” moaned Wanda.

Natasha just laughed at the pouting teenager. “But listen Wanda you need to be honest with me about how you are feeling? Don’t bury your feelings.”

“You make it sound so easy,” groaned Wanda. 

“It is very easy,” replied Natasha knowingly. “Do I need to tuck you in every night so we can talk?”

“No!” said Wanda in embarrassment. “You are unbelievable, no-one would believe me if I said you were like this! The terrifying Black Widow.”

“See that’s the thing Wanda no-one would believe you,” replied Natasha with a grin. “My reputation precedes me.”

Natasha smoothed down the teenager’s hair, “But seriously Wanda here is your chance now to get anything off your chest. Clean slate.”

Wanda quirked her eyebrow in interest, “What? like a safe surrender?”

Natasha narrowed her eyes, “Why would you need a safe surrender? What have you done?”

“It was just a question,” replied Wanda meekly. Natasha glared at the teenager slightly, “Wanda…”

“It’s nothing.”

Natasha just raised her eyebrows at the teenager, “are you sure?”

Wanda hesitated for a moment, clearing thinking about it, before shaking her head firmly, “I’m sure.”

“Ok sweetheart.”

Wanda felt a small knot of guilt tighten in her stomach. She had a clear opportunity to tell the truth about her little campus excursion, but she couldn’t find the courage to disappoint Natasha. 

Natasha stood up, “I’m going to get you some food.” She started walking towards the door. 

“Mama…”

She turned to face the teenager, when Wanda was sure she had her full attention she finally spoke up, “I love you.”

Natasha smiled back at her, “I love you too, sweetheart.”

……………………………………………………………………….

Natasha turned back to Steve firmly, “Make sure she takes on plenty of fluids..”

“I know Nat, she is going to be fine. Go to work. I’m more than capable of taking care of her.”

Natasha looked back at Steve before twitching her head to the side and glancing over at Wanda who was currently snuggled up on the sofa in blankets. It was Monday morning. 

Natasha sighed, “remember to check her temperature, I’ll come back on my lunch break to check on her.”

Wanda rolled her eyes from the sofa, “Her is here, Can we not talk about her as if she isn’t here?”

Natasha smiled at the teenager, “hush you.” She walked over and tucked the blanket around her. “Now be good for Steve and I’ll see you in a few hours.”

She turned her head back towards the open doorway, “Peter, hurry up we are going to be late.”

They all heard the sound of slight banging from up the stairs. Steve shook his head in amusement, “God knows what he is doing..”

Wanda smiled from her position on the sofa, as Natasha and Peter rushed out of the house to head to school. Once the coast was clear she untucked the blanket from around her, and stretched to stand up. 

“Back on the sofa Wanda,” stated Steve from the hallway. 

Wanda sighed in frustration, “Come on Steve, I’ve been laying down all weekend. I’m bored of being sick, and I’m practically fine now.”

Steve popped his head around the door, “You still have a temperature which is why you aren’t at school today. Hopefully you will be ok to go in tomorrow.”

Wanda shrugged, she changed tact, “can’t we just go for a little walk?”

“Don’t look at me with those pathetic sad eyes you put on. Natasha will literally kill me if I let you out of this house.”

Wanda continued to just look at him sadly, the bottom lip started to drop into a slight pout. 

“Don’t do that! Why don’t we play a game or watch a film?”

“I’ve watched so many films already,” moaned Wanda. “That is all I have done all weekend. Why don’t we spar in the basement?”

“Absolutely not,” replied Steve sternly, “You might be feeling a bit better but you are not.” Wanda looked at the older man surprised at his change of tone. Steve walked into the room and settled on the sofa next to the witch, Wanda rested her head on his shoulder in response. 

“Will you read to me?” asked Wanda quietly. 

“Of course I can,” stated Steve with a warm smile. 

That’s how Natasha found them at lunch time, Wanda snuggled into Steve asleep, a book discarded on the sofa.

Natasha smiled at the pair of them, “You are too cute Steve. How long has she been asleep for?”

“Only about 30 minutes,” replied Steve whispering. He carefully disentangled himself from the teenager, laying her head gently onto the pillow before following Natasha into the kitchen. They both sat down at the kitchen table, Steve stretching slightly form the awkward angle he had been sat at when Wanda had been sleeping on him. 

“You getting old fossil?”

“Very funny Romanoff,” came the quick reply from Steve. Natasha turned serious in that moment, “you heard anything from Tony yet?”

Steve shook his head, “No update on the Accords at all. It sounds terrible but we almost need a global catastrophe in order for them to see straight.”

“I hope it never comes to that,” replied Natasha sadly. “Is it wrong that I’m not sure I want to go back to being an Avenger? I mean I know I have a responsibility to the world, but personally this is better. Wanda is safe, you are safe, there is no fighting, no risk of explosions or danger….”

“We still have that risk Nat, we could be discovered at any point,” stated Steve.

“I know that, but I don’t think I want Wanda to be an avenger in the future.”

“That’s not your decision to make Nat,” replied Steve. 

“Don’t you want what is best for her? Think about our lives, think about the loss, the fighting, we never actually win. We both thought we were fighting with the good guys only to discover that Shield had been infiltrated by Hydra,” said Natasha. “I don’t want that for her, think about it Steve we could retire together. Get a little place in Brooklyn, Wanda could go to college, get a normal job…”

“Shouldn’t Wanda get a choice in this?” came a voice from the doorway, an annoyed and still sleepy Wanda appeared in the kitchen. 

Natasha stood up and walked over to the witch, resting her hand on her forehead to try and gauge her temperature. “Hey Sweetheart, How are you feeling?”

“Don’t change the subject. Not when you are apparently planning my future?” reprimanded Wanda. 

Steve spoke up, “We are just talking Wanda, just dreaming.”

Wanda narrowed her eyes at the two of them. “I want to help People,” was the curt reply. “I’ll do that with or without your help, so make sure your future planning doesn’t try and determine my life choices.”

“We can discuss more of this later, why don’t we just have some lunch before I go back to work,” replied Natasha trying to break the awkward tension in the room. 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Wanda was relieved to finally be going back to school. It was not a thought she ever believed would enter her head. It was nice to be out of the stifling house. She was starting to go crazy cooped up in the family home. She pulled her backpack up so it was resting on one shoulder and turned to Peter. “Anything I need to be aware of?”

Peter shrugged at her, “Not really, Becky is throwing a party this weekend. Her parents are away on a business trip.”

Wanda nodded at Peter, “Sounds fun.”

Peter snorted, “You really think Aunty Nat and Uncle Steve are going to let us go?”  
Wanda smiled at Peter, “I know how they will let us go, or more precisely I’ll just ask Daddy.”

Peter laughed at her, “You have uncle Steve wrapped around your finger.”

“We just have to play it right, Parker,” explained Wanda. “Leave it to me and don’t get involved.”

“You are the best big cousin,” joked Peter. “Now come on we both have History.”

Wanda smirked and wrapped a loose arm around the teenage boy laughing as they entered the building.

…………………………………………..

Wanda sat at the desk, trying to hide her boredom. Why did all western countries insist on teaching World War two, but also teaching it in such a ridiculously bias way. Wanda understood that aspect of life, that history was written by the victors but nonetheless it irritated her. Hitler Bad, Churchill good seemed to be the general stance of her history teacher. He was interested in explaining the background, the social pressures, the truth. The truth as Wanda saw it. Maybe it was her own experience of War that had warped her perspective on things. 

She tapped her pen casually onto the piece of paper. She was supposed to be taking notes the rest of her classmates were rapidly writing down the words that were streaming from her teachers mouth. Wanda had yet to find a single word he had uttered that merited her jotting down a single line. She scanned around the room, everyone else was leant over their desk, hunched up and tense, as if their education depended on them copying down each word verbatim. 

An annoying lock of hair fell in front of her face, she tucked it back behind her ear. Wanda still wasn’t used to the blonde locks. Natasha had done a great job of keeping the colour natural when she had dyed it. She had been concerned she would look like a platinum barbie, rather than herself. 

Wanda’s eyes wandered to the clock on the wall, but she had to contain her surprise when she saw a red shape phase through the wall. Wanda swallowed her shriek as she recognised Vision’s face, who seemed to give her the eyes before disappearing back through the wall. Wanda’s arm shot into the air.

‘Yes, Miss Rushman?”

“May I be excused please?” stuttered Wanda. The teacher sighed but nodded and gesticulated with his hands towards the door. He was muttering under her breath about teenager’s and their tiny bladders. Wanda left the room and headed towards the girl’s toilet. She barricaded the door with a bin, and then started shouting in a hushed whisper, “Vision! Vision!”

Vision materialised through the wall, “Wanda, It’s lovely to see you.”

Wanda grabbed the android in a tight hug. “I’ve missed you, but what are you doing here? Are you here to arrest us?” She finished with concern.

Vision shook his head, “I’m here for you, I have missed you Wanda. Mr Stark does not know I am here.”

“This is dangerous Vis, what if you get caught?”

“Even though I know logically I am behaving irrationally, and none of my actions make sense. I want to see you. I need to see you.”

Wanda cupped and stroked his cheek, “That makes complete sense.”

Vision wrapped his arms around her. “I can’t stay much longer, we can meet up at the weekend. There is a party, that can be my cover. We need to keep this a secret Viz, You know Natasha doesn’t like you.”

Vision smiled back at the witch, “It’s not that she doesn’t like me, it’s that she loves you.”

Wanda leaned up and kissed the android’s cheek chastely. “I’ll see you soon, I’ll meet you here tomorrow same time.”

Vision nodded and then phased through the wall. Wanda smiled and left the toilet to head back to her class.


	27. Breakthrough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a bit short. Hope you all enjoy! please comment, reviews do tend to get me writing more.

Wanda was enjoying her lunch breaks off campus with Vision. Every day they were going somewhere new. She loved sitting in London cafe’s the best, people watching while sipping a cappuccino. It made her feel like an adult, especially sat opposite Vision who was parading around in his human form. 

She picked up the large cup and brought it to her lips, she noticed Vision was just staring at her. “What are you looking at?”

“You,” he answered with a smile on his face. Wanda smirked back and then looked at her watch. “Viz, I better get back.”

“5 more minutes,” begged Vision slightly. Wanda smiled back at him, “Ok, just 5 more.”

Wanda snuck back in through the hole in the fence that her friends showed her on her first day. Peter was stood by the fence holding out her backpack for her to grab. 

“Cutting it close Wanda,” moaned Peter. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” replied Wanda with a roll of her eyes. 

“I don’t like this Wanda. Aunty Nat would have an aneurysm, “ stated Peter simply.

“Well it’s good thing she doesn’t know then,” replied Wanda sharply before she softened her tone, “I’m being careful Peter, I promise. You owe me after last time you told on me.”

Peter shrugged uncomfortably, he hated the fact he felt guilty for telling on her previously. 

“Fine, but If you get caught I knew nothing,” stated Peter.

“Sounds fair,” said Wanda in reply. 

“You sorted this party yet with Uncle Steve?”

“Don’t worry I got this,” said Wanda. “I’ve been planting the seeds.” She wiggled her fingers suggestively. Peter’s eyebrow’s shot up, “you have been using your powers,” he choked out in whispered shock. 

“Not fully,” justified Wanda, “Just a little poke here or there.”

“If they find out Wanda……” Peter let the sentence trail off. 

“See that’s the key word there Peter… If…” explained Wanda with an all knowing smirk. Being with Vision was giving her so much self-confidence, potentially too much. The two teenagers eventually heading back towards the building and their afternoon lessons. 

……………………………

Wanda sat cross legged on her bed with Natasha facing her. She watched as Natasha carefully painted her fingernails red. Natasha had been serious about spending more quality time with her. Every night they had been doing something different. Wanda was enjoying the company as it felt more equal.

“I have this weird assignment in English,” she stated.

“Yeah,” replied Natasha, not looking up from her task, as she dipped the brush back into the bottle and then wiped the excess away on the side of the bottle. 

“Yeah, I have to write an essay on Man’s greatest invention,” explained Wanda.

“So what are you going to write about?” asked Natasha. 

Wanda shrugged, “not sure, maybe the wheel. I mean a few people are saying the internet…”

She allowed her statement to trail off, but Natasha didn’t take the bait. Wanda paused for a few seconds. “What do you think is Man’s greatest invention?”

Natasha finally looked up from her task. “I know what I think.”

Wanda looked at her incredulously, “Are you going to tell me?”

Natasha smiled at her, “Man’s greatest invention is language.”

Wanda looked at her curiously, “Language?”

“Yes, our ability to communicate is what sets us apart from the other animals on this planet. Communication is what has led to all other major developments and inventions.”

Wanda looked pensive, “I guess you are right, words are powerful. I saw that before…”

She sat lost in her thoughts for a moment, “You ok sweetheart?”

“Yeah, just thinking.”

“Anything you want to share?” asked Natasha gently.

“Just thinking about back home,” replied Wanda. 

“You know you can talk to me about anything..” said Natasha, turning to grab the bottle of nail polish again. 

“It just makes me nervous, opening up that big can of worms. I can function, why would I risk that?”

“There is a difference between functioning and living Wanda,” explained Natasha softly. 

“What’s the point of dwelling in the past? Talking about it won’t change it,” stated Wanda the bitterness evident in her tone.

“I promise you it helps,” replied Natasha lovingly. 

“What if you can’t love me anymore when you find out the truth?” Wanda barely whispered it but Natasha heard every word. 

Natasha finished painting the last nail on Wanda’s slightly shaking hand. “I will always love you unconditionally.”

Wanda took a deep breath, ‘I’m not a good person though, I’ve done a lot of terrible things not just at Hydra.”

“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?” asked Natasha watching carefully as Wanda softly blew on her fingernails to dry them. 

Wanda continued to look at the back of her hands, “You know sometimes I can still see the blood on my hands.”

Natasha knew better than to interrupt her and let her continue speaking. Wanda never took her eyes off her hands refusing to look up at Natasha’s face.

“I know that’s crazy, but I swear I do. I close my eyes and reopen them and still see the blood. Then I wonder if I’m just imagining it, and whether or not my hands were ever really covered in blood in the first place.”

Natasha grasped Wanda’s hand gently forcing the girl to avert her eyes up so she could see her loving expression. 

“The mind is a powerful thing Wanda, sometimes it tries to protect us by shielding own memories from us. It doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”

Wanda looked back at her hands awkwardly, “What if my head is making it all up? But what’s worse? If i’m making it up or it actually happening? How I can talk to you about it when I can’t tell fact from fiction.”

Natasha coughed to clear her throat, “The only way we can find out is if we talk it through.”

“What if I’m a fraud what if I’m lying about something that happened, because my memories seem so cloudy. I can’t risk that,” replied Wanda. 

Natasha gripped Wanda’s chin, gently but firmly and tilted her head up to look at her. “All your reactions Wanda indicate something happened, you have tried for too long to deal with it yourself. Let me help you.”

Wanda swallowed but nodded weakly. Natasha smiled back at her, “Ok, why don’t we start with a simple question?”

“Whose blood do you think was on your hands?”

Wanda took a deep breath causing her teeth to whistle slightly as she considered her answer. “I’m not ready to answer that.”

“OK,” replied Natasha. “Why don’t we start more simply, why don’t you describe the house you grew up in to me?”

Wanda looked at her thoughtfully as if trying to understand why she would want to do such a thing. “It was a terraced house in the city, we didn’t have much of a garden, but there was a park nearby that Pietro and I would walk to. We had three bedrooms, I could have had my own room, but I didn’t want to be apart from Pietro.”

“What colour was your bedroom?” asked Natasha.

Wanda smiled, “it was blue, our parents painted clouds at the top and the sun in the corner. It wasn’t very professional, they were no artists.”

Wanda relaxed as she continued to talk Natasha, “We had bunk beds, Pietro let me have the top bunk. He always looked after me. “

Natasha watched her sink into her mind, “We had a routine every weekend, on a Friday night we would have chicken Sach from this local restaurant. On Saturday morning we would go with Papa to pick up grandpa Vasily from the worker’s club. He would always give us sweets and let us play the games,” Wanda smiled warmly as she hesitated on the memory. 

Wanda turned to Natasha suddenly feeling embarrassed, “Sorry…. I mean Sorry… you don’t care about that stupid stuff.”

“Of course I do Wanda, I always want to hear about your life.” 

Wanda crawled over to where Natasha was sat and snuggled into her body. “Is it ok if we talk about something else now?”

Natasha nodded, “Of course sweetheart.”

Wanda relaxed into her hold, feeling safe and secure. 

……………………………………………………………

Peter turned to Steve who was sat on the sofa next to him. “Stop camping!”

Steve laughed at him, “It’s not camping, it’s called sniping.”

Peter huffed loudly but turn his attention back to the screen in annoyance. “How are you good at this? They didn’t even have TV’s when you were a kid.”

“I’m not that old,” exclaimed Steve, as he stared down the scope waiting for the flicker of an enemy soldier. 

“How are you feeling though Pete?”

Peter shrugged his shoulders without taking his eyes of the screen, “I’m ok.”

“You know you can be honest with me? I know this whole situation is a bit crazy.”

Peter nodded, “Yeah I know, I mean I miss Mr Stark, and Aunt May, but you guys have been great, and I’m grateful for you taking me in.”

“I didn’t ask the question to get you to say thanks Pete. I’m asking because I want to make sure you are genuinely okay,” explained Steve. 

“Well I’m ok,” replied Peter. “Can I ask you a question though Uncle Steve?”

“Yeah of course,” said Steve, pausing the game, and turning to face the teenager.

“What happened between you and Mr Stark in Siberia?”

Wanda and Natasha took that moment to enter the living room. Wanda threw herself onto the sofa between the two males. “Who is winning then?”

Natasha walked over and kissed Steve softly. “I’m sure it’s Steve.”   
Wanda sat back up again when she noticed neither of them were really talking, “Did we interrupt something?”

Steve looked at Peter with pleading eyes. “Um No,” replied Peter, “Just busy getting my ass kicked by this dinosaur.”

Steve smiled in relief despite being called a dinosaur. Natasha looked curiously between the two of them, “So who is hungry? Peter do you want to come with me to pick up the Pizza?”

Peter nodded, “Yeah I could do with some air.”

Natasha grabbed her purse off the coffee table in front of the sofa, “Let’s go then kiddo.”

Peter passed his controller over to Wanda, “Here you have a go.”

Wanda took the controller awkwardly, “You know i’m no good at this.”

Steve turned to Wanda, “It’s ok we can play something else.”

They waved as the two others left the room. 

“So…” said Wanda.

‘So..?” parroted back Steve comically. 

“So there is a party this weekend..” stated Wanda cutely.

“Is there?” questioned Steve in an over exaggerated excited tone. 

“So we can go?” asked Wanda.

“Are you inviting me to a party Wanda?” joked Steve.

“No you know I mean Peter and I,” stated Wanda firmly. “Please it will help with our cover.”

Steve looked at the teenager who was giving him full puppy dog eyes. “I don’t think this is a good idea… Have you asked Nat?’  
“Please Daddy…”

Wanda wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. Steve sighed, “Ok…”

“You mean it??” replied an excited Wanda. 

“You have to be home by 11, and you check in every hour and no alcohol,” explained Steve trying to make himself feel better aware that Natasha was going to kill him. 

“Deal,” said Wanda, she kissed his cheek. “You are the best.”  
…………………….

“Why would she not ask me?” questioned Natasha. She was laying in bed next to Steve. “I thought we had a breakthrough today…”

“She probably thought you would say no,” replied Steve.

“I would have said no, you should have said no,” stated Natasha.

“Romanoff,” chided Steve, “you have to release the child reign’s one day. She is 16 not 6… It’s just a party. Peter will be with her. You wanted her to have a normal life, but part of that is letting her be a teenager.”

Natasha wrinkled her nose at him, “Don’t use my own words against me, that’s my job as the woman in this relationship.”

Steve laughed and pulled the spy into his arms.


	28. The Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the lovely comments! It's why you have a little update today.

Wanda felt the guilt in her stomach growing, on a level she knew that using her powers to manipulate those around her was wrong. She had been so preoccupied with achieving her goal that the methodology had not bothered her. Now she had achieved that goal the way she had done it was now affecting her deeply. 

She adored Steve and felt incredibly guilty while she knew she had barely used her powers and it was more her human skills that had convinced him. Wanda still felt that reverberating guilt thrumming through her body. She sat in front of her mirror in her bedroom trying to apply her makeup as her right hand shook. 

A knock on the door made her drop her eyeliner to the floor, she swore under her breath in annoyance. Natasha opened the door, and poked her head around the door, “You ok Malyshka?”

She took in the nervous uptight posture of her child. Natasha walked into the bedroom and picked up the dropped eyeliner, “Look at me.”

Wanda turned to face Natasha, “close your eyes.”

Natasha gently started applying the eyeliner, “Why are you so anxious little one?”

“Just nervous,” she replied keeping her eyes shut. “I know you don’t want us to go.”

Natasha sighed, “I want you to be happy. You are right it makes me nervous but that’s my problem not yours.”

“I’m sorry I asked Steve rather than you,” said Wanda quietly. 

“I understand why you did Wanda, but I promise you I will be more open in the future.”

If anything Natasha’s statement just made Wanda feel more sick to her stomach. Her guilt was now like fireworks going off in her stomach. 

“There all done, you look beautiful Wanda. Any one in particular you are looking to catch the eye of tonight?”

Wanda blushed under the question as she opened her eyes, “No, not really.”

She felt awful lying to Natasha, but knew the Vision situation would not be well received. 

“Ok so remember home by 11, text us every hour, and no alcohol,” reminded Natasha. 

“Yeah I got it Mama,” replied Wanda tightly. 

‘Ok, Peter is waiting for you downstairs…”

……………………………………………………….

The noise was emanating from the house, they could hear it from the street. Wanda grasped Peter’s hand tightly, “You ok Wands?”

“Yeah of course,” replied Wanda tensely. 

“We don’t have to go you know. We can just go to the cinema or something?” stated Peter gently.

Wanda stiffened and stood up straighter, “No, I can do this.”

Peter glanced back at the nervous teenager, “We need a code word, you say it and I know that you want to leave.”

Wanda looked thoughtful, “Let’s go with Liverpool.”

“Ok,’ replied Peter warmly, “let’s go cousin.”

Wanda smiled at that, “Ok little cousin.”

“Come on Wanda, you are literally a few months older than me…” moaned Peter.

The house was full of people they carefully manoeuvred through the hallway into the main staging area which was the open kitchen living space. Becky shouted over from the kitchen table, “We are playing ring of fire, grab a tin.”

She pointed over to the cans of Stella situated on the kitchen bar. Wanda grabbed one and passed another to Peter and went and stood around the table. 

“What are the rules?” asked Peter.  
The others all looked at him like hyenas circling their prey. “You will pick it up as we go…”

George turned to Adam, “It’s your turn.”

Adam slowly pulled the card out of the circle that was surrounded the pint glass in the middle of the table. He held up the four of clubs, and then very quickly threw himself to the floor. Wanda and Peter looked bemused as all the occupants of the table hit the floor. 

George yelled out, “four hit the floor.”

Becky grabbed Wanda’s arm and pulled her to the floor. 

“Parker, you were last…”

Everyone stood back up against the table and starting banging against the table, chanting, “Consume your beverage, consume your beverage.”

Peter looked at Wanda in confusion who just shrugged at him. He tipped the can back and quickly downed it. For once he was grateful for his Spiderman metabolism aware the alcohol would have minimal effect on him, unless in large quantities. Adam threw another can at Peter who caught it easily. “Wanda it’s your turn pull a card, but remember don’t break the ring.”

‘What happens if I break the ring?”

“You have to drink the shit pint,” replied Becky knowingly.

“What’s the shit pint?”

She pointed towards the pint glass in the middle of the cards. She looked into it, and saw it was a mix of everyone’s drinks, and someone had mixed baileys with cider/ lager and by the looks of it grenadine. The baileys had curdled on the top of the liquid, giving it an almost solid state. “That is disgusting….”

As the game continued Wanda felt herself relaxing more and more into her environment. it also helped as she steadily got through more cans of alcohol.

Peter turned to her, “Wanda, I think you should slow down a bit.”

“I’m fine Peter,” she replied without thinking. 

Adam raised an eyebrow at them, “Did you just call him Peter?”

Wanda paled at the realisation as she struggled to come up with a cover story, “It’s his middle name, family joke..”

Peter removed the can of Stella from her grasp, “You have definitely had enough.”

Wanda shoved Peter away from her, “back off, for once I’m feeling great Parker. I’m not stuck in my own head being a miserable bitch. So let me have this.”

Peter backed off from her, “Fine, I’ll leave you to it. You are on your own.”

He stormed off upset away from the table. Adam wrapped an arm around Wanda’s shoulder, “ignore him, he’s just being a pussy.”

Peter walked up the stairs, he opened the window and climbed out of the house onto the roof. He took a deep breath of the cold autumn air, and sat on the edge of the roof to calm himself. Peter knew Wanda had issues far beyond the surface, but god was she frustrating. 

“You ok Mr Parker?”

Peter turned in shock only to see Vision floating down onto the roof. Peter hadn’t even realised he was crying. He wiped away his tears with his sleeve, “yeah it’s been a rough few weeks,” he stammered out.

Vision nodded in understanding, “Where’s Wanda?”

“Having fun,” he replied bitterly. Vision looked thoughtful, “I find Wanda a bit of a mystery, sometimes I think she is an adult beyond her years and other times…”

Peter nodded in agreement, “She’s been through a lot, sometimes she’s my best friend overtimes she’s a selfish prick.”

“I understand that,” replied Vision.

Peter sighed, “I better go back in there and sort her out. What time is it?”

“It’s midnight.”

Peter paled considerably, “Oh shit, they are going to kill us!”

……………………………………………….

Natasha was pacing in the hallway, the agitation coming off her in waves. 

“Calm down Nat,” said Steve gently. Natasha had slammed open the cupboard door and grabbed her coat roughly. She was stuffing her arms into the coat as Steve tried to calm her.

“I will not calm down, we told them both 11. It’s now 12. I’m going to go and grab them both by their ears and drag them home.”

“Romanoff, I’m sure they are ok,” replied Steve.

“Why are you being so calm? They could have been captured!”

Steve looked at her oddly, “I don’t know why I’m so calm, I just feel serene.”

Natasha stopped her harried movements, “Steve look me in the eyes, don’t blink.”  
She stared at him for a minute scanning his eyes, she then saw it the flash of red. Natasha’s face dropped, “I’m going to kill her.”

“Kill who?” asked Steve confused.

“Wanda, she used her powers on you.”

Steve’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He grabbed the phone and quickly read the text, “It’s Peter, he says they are sorry they lost track of time.”

“I don’t care, I’m going to go get them now,” snapped Natasha in anger.

“Nat, we can’t go in there all guns blazing. We can’t draw attention to ourselves.”

……………………………………………………………………….

“Wanda!” shouted Peter around the busy house, desperately trying to find the young witch. He had gone back to the kitchen only to find the teenager missing in action. Peter was getting more and more frustrated, as he kept bumping into more and more people. He cringed as a pint was spilled down his front, soaking his shirt and jeans. 

“Wanda!” Peter turned and saw a familiar face, “Adam where is Wanda?”

“She went out the back for a smoke,” he replied. Peter rushed to the patio door and headed outside trying to find witch in the crowd. He quickly located her, standing under a tree puffing away.

“Wanda we need to run,” said Peter slightly out of breath.

Wanda rolled her eyes, “We are fine Parker.”

“It’s midnight,” replied Peter. Wanda paled in realisation, “Shit! We are dead, my phone alarm didn’t go off!”

Wanda dropped her cigarette to the ground, and stubbed it out with her Doc Martin boots. She grabbed his outstretched hand and let him pull her back through the house and out of the front door. They rushed out into the evening air, “come on we better run.”

……………………………………………………

“I can’t believe she did that to me,” stated a distraught Steve. 

“She’s a teenage girl, they are manipulative assholes when they want to be,” replied Natasha. “We won’t let this go.”

“How do we deal with this?’ asked Steve. 

“We deal with it together, we punish her together.”

“I thought we were getting close,” whispered Steve, “not that she was just using me to get what she wanted.”

“Steve you are close, she adores you. I promise you that. You should have seen her when you left to pick up Peter, she was worried sick about you,” explained Natasha gently. 

They both turned when they heard the front door open with a rushed bang. Natasha crossed her arms and glared at the two miscreants who had entered the house. 

Steve equalled the pose, and glared at the two teens.

“Hey…”

…………………………………………………………………..


	29. Cognitive Recalibration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...Holy Shit I got a lot of comments on the last chapter. I'm honestly overwhelmed by the feedback, and how many people are reading my pathetic little story. I really appreciate you all taking the time to read this and comment. It's one of the reasons I am updating a bit earlier than I was planning. (I actually got up at 4am this morning in order to write before work, dedicated or idiotic you can decide that.)
> 
> I hope you are not disappointed by this now. I hope you all enjoy.

“Hey Mama,” whimpered Wanda, “Sorry we are….”

“Not another word Wanda, I can smell the alcohol from here. Peter is practically doused in it.”

Peter interrupted, “Someone spilt a drink down me and..”

Natasha cut in, “So are you trying to tell me you didn’t drink any alcohol at all, and some just happened to spill down you which was your only contact with it?”

Peter understood now was the time to shut up, he had never seen Natasha’s anger directed at him. Peter’s silence answered the question for her. 

“As I thought, now both of you get to bed. It’s late, I have left bottles of water on your bedside table’s make sure you drink one before you go to bed. You are both going to want to feel your best tomorrow, when we deal with this,” explained Natasha strictly. 

Wanda approached the pair of them, “I am sorry we are late….”

“Wanda, what did I just say? I’m too angry to deal with this right now, get to bed.”

Wanda flashed in annoyance, “We are only an hour late, don’t get your panties in a twist.”

Steve spoke up, “Is that all you have done Wanda?”

Wanda felt her stomach drop, as she wondered about what else they could know, but knew better than at this point to incriminate herself, “I plead the fifth.”

Steve narrowed his eyes at the teenager, “bed now.”  
Wanda approached Steve and cuddled into his arms, “Goodnight daddy.” He rested his chin on the top of her head. After enjoying the hug for a second, he pulled her away from him, as he noticed a scent, “Have you been smoking again?”

Wanda stuttered slightly, “I just had the one….”

Steve could barely hide the disappointment from his face, “Go to bed Wanda, we will talk in the morning.”

Wanda looked at the man sadly, “I’m sorry….”

Natasha interrupted, “you are only sorry you got caught. Peter up to bed as well please.”

…………………………………………………………………..

The following morning was incredibly tense, as the two adults waited for the teens to come downstairs for breakfast. They had decided that a divide and conquer approach was required, and the weaker link was probably going to be Peter. 

Natasha soon got fed up of waiting and grabbed Steve to go knock on Peter’s door. They heard the pitiful voice tell them to “come in.”

Peter was sat up in his bed hugging his knees resting his head on them off to one side. Natasha went and sat by one side, and Steve the other, “Okay Kiddo, why don’t you talk me though last night?”

Peter opened up about the game, the drinking, his little spat with Wanda, but made sure not to mention anything about Vision. The two adults let the teen talk and get it all off his chest.

“You are not Wanda’s keeper Peter? She is responsible for her own actions, it’s not your job to take care of her that’s our job.”

“I know,” replied Peter, “I’ve always been the nerd and the geek, but here Wanda is one of the cool ones. It was nice to be one of the cool ones for once.”

Steve spoke up, “But you broke the rules we set before the party. What were the rules?”

“Home by 11, check in, and don’t drink,” stated Peter awkwardly. 

“So you did know them?” questioned Natasha with a trademark rise of her eyebrow. Peter fidgeted underneath her gaze.

“I’m sorry Aunty Nat, I’ll pack now.”

Natasha’s expression softened, “why would you pack?”

“Don’t you want me to leave?” asked Peter softly. 

“Of course not, we are looking after you, you are staying with us until this accord mess is straightened out.” 

Peter sighed in slight relief, “but you are going to be punished Peter.”

He looked at the two adults nervously, “what would your Aunt May have done?”

Peter blushed under the question and averted his eyes down mumbling under his breath. 

The two adults looked at each other, “ok Peter, we need to go talk to Wanda, then we will meet altogether in the kitchen to discuss moving forwards.”

Natasha leant over and kissed his head, while Steve settled for ruffling his hair, “you may want to jump in the shower kiddo you smell like a brewery.”

……………………………………………………………………..  
Wanda was restless, she was tidying her room for what felt like the 50th time. There was nothing left to tidy, nothing seemed to take the edge off. She heard a knock on the door, and hesitated a second before going over to the door and opening it slightly, not surprised to see both her parents waiting behind the door for her.

“Hey,” she stated weakly. 

“Good morning baby,” came the reply from Natasha, which instantly made the teenager relax slightly. Her shoulders slumped as she let the two adults into her room. Wanda walked over to her bed and sat cross legged on the foot of the bed. They all sat in relative silence for a few minutes before Steve coughed and started to speak. 

“We have already spoke to Peter who told us about the events of the party, so you drank, broke curfew and smoked?”

Wanda nodded in agreement, “yeah I got a bit carried away.”

“ a bit?” snorted Natasha from her seat.

Steve glanced back at Natasha in slightly annoyance, “But we have a bigger issue to discuss with you, now don’t get me wrong you are going to be punished for doing all three of these things.”

Wanda paled at that wondering what Steve wanted to discuss with her. 

“I am going to ask a question Wanda and I want you to answer it completely honestly.”

Wanda nodded, realising for the first time that Steve was leading this whole conversation. “Did you use your powers on me to get me to agree to you attending this party?”

Wanda felt all the air leave her chest in that one moment, as she exhaled her body slumped forward. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean… I didn’t think… I’m sorry Dad….”

She threw herself into his arms, and Steve caught her firmly wrapping his arms around her. Steve held her as she continued to mutter, “I really wanted to go.. I couldn’t risk you saying no… I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” 

Natasha pulled Wanda’s head gently away from Steve’s chest cradling it and making Wanda look her in the eyes. “Do you understand how wrong that was? to use your powers like that?”

Wanda tried to avert her eyes but Natasha refused to allow her to, “I didn’t when I was doing it,” she replied honestly, “It’s only after I got what I want that I thought about it.”

Natasha nodded, “I appreciate your honesty Wanda. I think we need to have a few more conversations about right/ wrong and consent.”

Natasha released her hold, and Wanda burrowed herself back in Steve’s arms. 

………………………………………………………………………………….

Steve and Natasha left the teenagers in their rooms and wandered down to the kitchen, “So what do we do?” asked Steve.

Natasha sighed and ran her hand through her short blonde locks. “I mean I have calmed down a bit now, and really they were just behaving like normal teenagers. I mean who doesn’t go to a party and have some drinks at 16, and nothing went drastically wrong…”

“This time,” cut in Steve. “I know we want them to be normal teenagers, but they aren’t.”

“When did we switch places?” joked Natasha awkwardly. Steve turned the kettle on and started grabbing the cups for coffee. 

“We haven’t. I just want to make sure we are dealing with the right things. My bigger concern is the way Wanda used her powers on me,” replied Steve.

Natasha nodded in agreement and jumped up to sit on the kitchen counter, “I agree, I think we just need to ground them both for the party shenanigans, maybe have them write an essay on their poor choices last night.”

Steve nodded his back to Natasha as he pulled the sugar out of the cupboard, and put a scoop into his cup. He turned back as he waited for the kettle to boil. “How do we deal with the bigger issue?”

Natasha exhaled, “I think you know the answer to that.”

Steve looked awkward, “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that, well not me doing that.”

“Why?” questioned Natasha curiously. 

“I mean is it appropriate,” replied Steve.

“It’s only inappropriate if you make it,” stated Natasha. “She sees you as a parental figure.”

“What if I hurt her? I mean super soldier wise,” said Steve. 

“You spar with us all the time, you can control your strength and you know it,” replied Natasha knowingly. “What is really bothering you?”

“I like being the nice one,” said Steve refusing to look at Natasha. 

Natasha snorted at him, “you are such a pushover Steve. I promise you, you will be closer for it. We will both do it, I know my kid. If we don’t she will self-destruct. She is wallowing in guilt as we speak. She has very little self-control, she gets so caught up up in everything.”

“Wet paint,” replied Steve suddenly. 

“What?” asked a bemused Natasha. 

“Wet paint, It’s something my Dad used to say to me. There are two types of people in this world, those that can walk past a wet paint sign, and take the sign as reason to not touch it. Then there are the people that just have to touch the paint.”

“That’s actually pretty accurate,” said Natasha with a smile. “We have to remind her to not touch the paint.” 

………………………………………………………………………..

Both teens sat awkwardly at the kitchen table, Wanda was playing with the spoon in her cereal lifting the cheerios up and then slowly letting them slide over the spoon back into the bowl. She kept repeating the action over and over again. 

“Wanda stop playing with your food,” said Natasha. 

Wanda dropped the spoon angrily onto the table, the loud clang made Peter wince. 

“That was unnecessary Wanda,” reprimanded Steve. 

“Are we all just going to sit here?” stated Wanda in anger. 

“Fine Wanda you want to play it this way, go upstairs now. Go to my room and stand in the corner.”

Wanda huffed, but stood up making the chair screech as it dragged across the floor. She slammed the kitchen door shut behind her. 

Steve turned to Peter, “Natasha and I spoke about everything you are grounded kiddo. That means no video games, No TV. We also want you to write down everything that happened last night as well as what you could have done differently.”

Peter nodded sadly. “I understand. I am sorry Uncle Steve, things just got out of hand.”  
Natasha stood up and walked over to the teenager. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, “it’s ok Peter, we all make mistakes. It’s how we deal with those mistakes and move forwards. That’s what is important.”

Peter smiled weakly in response. “You going to be ok Peter?”

“Yeah I am.”

Natasha pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “You sure? We need to go speak to Wanda for a bit, are you ok to stay down here and work on your essay?”

“I can do that,” replied Peter.

…………………………………………………………………..

Wanda stood in the corner. She wasn’t sure why she was following the instructions. The anger was festering in her stomach. Anger or guilt, she wasn’t really sure what emotion she was feeling. She banged her head slightly against the wall in frustration. Wanda heard the door open and then click shut behind the occupants of the room. 

“Have you calmed down a bit now?” she heard Natasha’s voice from behind her. She took a deep breath and turned around. 

“Yes,” Wanda replied shortly. 

Natasha sat on the bed with Steve, she tapped a place on the bed between them, “come here.”

Wanda slowly crossed the room and took her place on the bed between them. 

“You want to tell me what’s going through your mind?”

“Why aren’t you just yelling at me? Telling me off,” asked Wanda in annoyance. 

“We have a lot to discuss,” replied Steve. 

“Are you too disappointed to yell?” said Wanda sadly.

“Not at all,” said Natasha quickly. “let’s start with the party. While we are disappointed with some of your behaviour, we are never disappointed in you.”

Natasha grabbed Wanda’s hand, “Talk to us Wanda, we understand the teenage rebellion. Getting a bit drunk at a party is almost a rite of passage for which you are grounded by the way, but why would you use your powers on Steve like that.”

Wanda looked down at her feet, “I just wanted what I wanted…”

“That’s not an answer Wanda,” interrupted Natasha.   
“I’m sorry,” replied Wanda brokenly.

“I know you are sorry now Wanda. I just need to understand why you did it. Do you not trust us?”

Wanda looked at the pair of them shocked, “I trust you both more than I have ever trusted anyone.”

Natasha smiled at that in spite of herself. “Wanda I need you to understand this. You are never to use your powers in this way on either Steve or myself ever. Doing so could put you in life threatening danger do you understand that?”

Wanda heard those words and gasped instantly recognising where this conversation was going to end. “Mama, No… I’m sorry.”

“Wanda we need you to start thinking about your actions before you make them,” stated Steve. 

“I do try,” mumbled Wanda. 

“I love you Wanda. But you hurt me. You used me,” explained Steve. 

“I love you too,” said Wanda sadly. “Can you forgive me? Please I need you to forgive me.”

“Of course I do, but I need you to do something for me.”

Wanda looked at him curiously, “I need you to forgive yourself.”

Wanda shook her head, “I’m such an idiot, why do I ruin everything I touch? Why do I have to destroy everything good in my life?”

“Wanda,” said Natasha firmly. “You have made a mistake, that’s all.”

“All I do is make mistakes,” said Wanda sadly, her free hand was unconsciously scratching at the skin on her arm.

Natasha gripped Wanda’s hand tighter, “You are a teenager you are supposed to make mistakes. We will help you make better choices that’s all Wanda. We are here to protect you Wanda, from Ross, Hydra and yourself.”

Wanda nodded in understanding, “I’ve been sneaking out.”

The words tumbled out over before she could stop herself. “What?”

“I’ve been sneaking out of school,” she stated more firmly. “I’ve been seeing someone.”

“Why would you do that? Why would you endanger yourself in that way?” asked Natasha her anger showing though the inflection in her tone. 

“I’m sorry,” whimpered Wanda. She rested her head against Natasha’s chest. 

“We are going to need to talk about this in more detail” replied Natasha.

“I don’t want to talk anymore,” replied Wanda weakly.

“Ok sweetheart, should we get this over with then?”

Wanda groaned and just rubbed her head into Natasha’s body. “You know you will feel better after we are done.”

“We?” asked Wanda curiously.

“Yes Steve is going to go first,” replied Natasha. 

Wanda looked up at her in slight shock, “you are both going to do it??”

“It’s what you need sweetheart,” said Natasha firmly.

Wanda blushed and whispered something into Natasha’s ear. “Don’t worry I’ll do that bit,” Natasha replied. 

Steve patted his lap invitingly. Wanda looked nervously over at Natasha, “will you hold my hand?”

Natasha pulled the girl gently to her feet, and led her over to Steve who tipped her gently over his lap. He rubbed her back in comfort, as Natasha held her hands out in front. 

“You ready Wanda?”

Steve wasted no time and applied firm swats which caused Wanda to immediately begin to inhale sharply in discomfort. He didn’t carry on for too long recognising it was more for the symbolism. Steve wasted no time in gathering the teenager in his arms. Wanda quickly settled into the hug resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry Dad.”

“It’s ok Wanda. Promise me you will never do it again.”

He pressed a kiss to her head, “Ok I’m going to leave you to your mom.” Steve turned back to Natasha, “I’m going to check on Pete.”

Wanda reluctantly got out of his arms, and sat back on the bed, and watched him leave the room. 

Natasha very quickly pulled the teenager over her knee, not giving the girl too much time to think about it . She tapped the girl’s bottom, to get her to lift up so she could pull down her pyjama bottoms. 

“Mama,’ Wanda moaned. 

“You know how this works by now,” came the reply. Wanda groaned but lifted her hips, Natasha pulled them down as well as her underwear. She glanced at the slightly pink backside in front of her, “your father is such a soft touch.”

“Didn’t feel that way,” came the smart reply. 

“How much do you need baby? Answer honestly.”

“Mama I can’t answer that,” moaned Wanda. Natasha laid down a firm swat which caused the teenager to hiss, “ok let me ask this differently, how heavy does your stomach feel?”

Wanda considered her words debating whether to lie or not before settling on the honest answer, “like I have swallowed a bowling ball.”

“Do you understand why you are over my knee right now?”

“Because I put myself in danger by using my powers inappropriately,” replied Wanda.

“And why else?” asked Natasha.

‘“I don’t know,” said Wanda.

“Yes you do,” stated Natasha firmly. 

Wanda blushed under the questioning, “To get rid of my guilt.” 

Natasha nodded, happy that Wanda was finally beginning to understand what she needed to function. “I’m so proud of you Wanda.”

‘How can you say that while you are punishing me?” asked Wanda. 

“You have admitted your mistakes and accepted the consequences.” Natasha swatted her hand down hard causing the teen to flinch a bit in response. She started to up the pace covering the quickly reddening backside in front of her. Wanda started to try and hold back the sobs as she felt the dam starting to overflow inside her, as the emotions were building.Natasha reached over the bed and ran her hand under the pillow where she had left the hairbrush out of sight of the teenager. She laid the cool wood against Wanda’s backside, she jerked slightly at the sensation. Wanda fidgeted over her knee wondering why Natasha had stopped. 

“So you understand the reasons you earned this spanking?”

Wanda nodded, “yes mama.”

“Just to be clear, I am deeply unimpressed with your conduct last night. We will be discussing it all in full.”

Wanda hung her head, and let out a whinging sound. Natasha in response brought the brush down hard. “Drinking, Smoking, ignoring our rules,” she punctuated each word with a hard swat. While Natasha knew she was really just punishing her for her actions with Steve, she also knew how Wanda’s guilt complex worked. If she left anything unstated then Wanda would still be clinging onto it, it would then fester into something dangerous. 

“Then you tell me you have been sneaking out,” Natasha continued to swat in-between words. She halted for a second for Wanda to catch her breath, as the sudden barrage of swats had left her gasping slightly as the pain registered. Natasha used the back of the brush to rub the stinging backside in front of her. 

“I want to make something very clear to you Wanda.”

Wanda’s head perked up slightly, as she tried to focus on Natasha’s words and not the pain currently localised in her rear. 

“If you ever sneak out again, I will spank you every night for a week. Do you understand me? I’m not messing around with this.”

Wanda dropped her head back to the bed. She wasn’t sure why she thought she had got away with slipping in the fact she had been sneaking out. Natasha brought the brush down hard causing the teen to yelp at the contact. 

“Do you understand Wanda?” asked Natasha again. 

“Yes Mama,” came the whimpered reply.

“How and when have you been sneaking out?” asked Natasha again. Wanda shook her head and pushed it further into the duvet. Natasha in response brought the brush down hard twice on her sit spots. She then paused for a second when Wanda didn’t answer she repeated the action. 

“I can do this all day Wanda,” said Natasha firmly.

“Lunchtime at school,” replied Wanda in defeat. “Gap in the fence.”

Natasha narrowed her eyes, “that stops now.” 

The cogs turned in Natasha’s brain, “Did Peter know?”

Wanda stiffened immediately, her change in body posture gave the answer away for her.

‘So he did,” responded Natasha, “I guess I will be having words with Mr Parker as well.”

Wanda exhaled in defeat, as Natasha recommenced the swatting, carefully watching the teenager’s body language. She knew they were nearly done. 

Natasha heard the sobs from the teenager and felt relief at the sound. She quickly pulled up her underwear and bundled the young witch into her arms. “You are ok…” she murmured rocking the girl slightly in her arms. Wanda relaxed into her grip, resting her head once again on her shoulder. Natasha kissed the girl’s slightly sweaty forehead. Wanda just buried her face into Natasha’s neck. 

“Did you really mean you threat?”

Natasha understood the words even if they were incredibly mumbled. “I did, but please don’t make me carry it out Wanda. I need you to take your safety seriously.”

“I won’t sneak out again,” replied Wanda, her free hand went back to rub her aching backside. 

“Good,” replied Natasha, who rubbed Wanda’s back to settle the girl in her arms. “You know I hate punishing you.”

Wanda snorted, “Doesn’t feel like it.”

“Just because I don’t like doing it, doesn’t I mean I won’t do it whenever it’s necessary. Ultimately you have control of it.”

“I hate it when you are so logical,” replied Wanda in faux annoyance. 

“Also Wanda, you don’t need to act out to get my attention. Don’t think I haven’t realised that part of it. I know you feel you can’t ask me to hold you. You don’t need to be punished for us to sit like this.”

Wanda blushed at the words it irritated her how sometimes it felt like Natasha was in her head, when she was the one with that power. “I don’t do that.”

Natasha just smiled at the teenager, “Maybe not consciously but on a level you do.”

The two were interrupted when there was a knock at the door. Steve entered carrying a hot mug of chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows. Natasha rolled her eyes playfully. Wanda’s eyes lit up at the treat, but couldn’t bring herself to get up out of Natasha’s arms. 

“Honestly Steve,” Natasha playfully moaned. 

Steve had the grace to look slightly abashed, “What? She’s still my princess.”

Wanda’s face fell at the comment. “What’s wrong princess?” asked Steve worriedly.

“What if i’m not your princess, what if I made you think that way? What if it’s all faked by my powers?”

Natasha coughed awkwardly, “I carried out a cognitive recalibration.”

Wanda raised an eyebrow at her, “you did what?”

“She hit me really hard in the head.”

Wanda looked back at Natasha in shock, “What? It worked on Clint, figured it would work on Steve.”

“So I love you, for just being you,” replied Steve emphasising the point. 

Wanda just reached a hand out for the hot chocolate.


	30. Mrs Rushman I presume?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small update this weekend. Hope you all enjoy.
> 
> I have a few questions for you lovely people, I have two tangents in my head for this story, one that follows end game, with the outcomes the same, and one that deviates from that end result. I am unsure which tangent to follow so your feedback may help me make that decision. Please comment and let me know.
> 
> Honestly the feedback has been so overwhelming it's such an incredible endorphin rush to see a notification of a comment on something that I have posted out in the world. Though I do honestly think some of the superlatives are exaggerated. There are some great stories on this site alone that are written with a panache that I lack. I will happily recommend them if anyone is interested?
> 
> In response to some comments:  
Wanda is currently Blonde, and Peter's undercover name is Parker.

Wanda sipped away at the hot chocolate as she relaxed into Natasha’s arms. Steve and Natasha seemed to be having a conversation with their eyes. Natasha then turned to the girl in her arms, “Wanda we need to know something.”

Wanda looked at her curiously, “What do you need to know?”

“Who have you been sneaking out to meet?” asked Steve. Wanda blushed and shook her head, “I would rather not say.”

Natasha plucked the half drunk mug out of the teenager’s hands and gave it to Steve. Ignoring the disgruntled “Hey” that came out of the girl’s mouth. 

“Wanda, you have to tell us.”

Wanda crossed her arms against her chest indignantly, “no I don’t.”

Natasha narrowed her eyes at the teenager, and reacted quicker than Wanda thought was possible. She soon found herself back over the older woman’s knee. Wanda squirmed in shock and displeasure, “Mama no! I’m too sore.” 

“Are you going to talk to us without the attitude??” questioned Natasha in annoyance, though she shared a look with Steve. She had no intention of further punishing the teen, and just hoped for once the teen didn’t realise it was an empty threat. Natasha just needed her to understand the seriousness of the situation. They could not afford to let this slide. 

“Yes Mama, let me up,” Natasha sighed in relief at the response and lifted the teen back into her arms. 

“Who have you been meeting?”

Wanda mumbled the answer and then pushed her face into the crook of Natasha’s neck. Steve looked confused as he didn’t hear the name from his position, but he saw Natasha’s expression change. 

She looked up at him, “We need to pack up, and go to the next location. We have been compromised.”

Wanda heard the words and groaned. She lifted her head up, “he won’t betray us. I know he won’t. He hasn’t yet as he?”

Natasha glared at her kid, “They could be mobilising now for all we know. How could you put yourself in danger like this Wanda? Us? and Peter?”

“I trust him,” whispered Wanda sadly. 

Natasha softened her glare, “Wanda we have to be so careful. You understand what will happen to us if we are caught don’t you?”

Wanda nodded and visibly shook as she remembered her brief time on the raft. 

“But I promise you, Vision isn’t like that. He cares for us.”

Steve paled as he finally heard the name, “but how do you know he hasn’t been followed?”

Wanda paled, “I’m sorry…I didn’t think.”

“When are you due to meet him again?” asked Natasha.

“Monday lunchtime,” replied Wanda shortly. Natasha turned to Steve, “We will go meet with him.”

“What you will come with me?” asked Wanda naively. 

Natasha snorted in response, “You will not be coming with us. You will be staying at school. On Monday morning you are going to be showing me how you have been sneaking out.”

Steve spoke up, “We will have a talk with Vision and then we will go from there. We will decide if you stay in contact.”

Wanda furiously turned to the man, “You don’t get to decide that. I said I wouldn’t sneak out anymore and I meant it, but you can’t stop me seeing him.”

“We can and we will, if we think that seeing him will put you in danger,” replied Natasha backing up Steve. “You are lucky we aren’t just taking off, and then you wouldn’t see him again…”

Wanda pulled away from Natasha and crawled up to the top of the bed, and curled up in the foetal position. “Wanda….” cajoled Nat. 

“Leave me alone,” replied Wanda tiredly. The events of the morning where starting to catch up with her and she was feeling exhausted. 

Natasha turned to Steve, “Wanda and I, need to have a private chat.” She mouthed the next words to Steve so they were not audible, and watched the solider blush furiously before nodding. He placed the hot chocolate back on the bedside table. Steve walked over to the bed and placed a kiss to the girl’s head. Natasha waited until Steve had closed the door behind him, before approaching the teenager. 

“I just want to be alone Mama,” stated Wanda quietly. 

“I know Wanda, but we need to make sure we have unpacked everything here today. I need to ask you a question and I need you to answer me honestly and I know it might be awkward.”

Wanda turned her head but not her body to look at Natasha curiously. “What question?”

Natasha moved closer to the teenager, “are you having sex with Vision?”

The question took Wanda by surprise as she struggled to formulate a response, “Um No… we aren’t… but I mean.. I have..had… you know.. I mean.. I have had.. so we don’t need to have a talk… or anything..”

Wanda blushed awkwardly under Natasha’s gaze, “This isn’t that kind of talk Wanda. I’m not going to start explaining that safe sex is the best sex.”

“I’m glad we have covered this,” replied Wanda trying to bring an end to the conversation. 

“Wanda,” interrupted Natasha lovingly. “I need you to listen to me, can you sit up please?”

Wanda sat up against the bed board, and Natasha climbed up and sat directly opposite her. 

“You aren’t ready for sex.”

Wanda once again went to interrupt, but Natasha lifted her hand to halt her, “let me finish.”

“I know you have had sex before, but listen to me. You are not ready for it. I am speaking from experience. Sex is not love. You have an addictive personality Wanda, and at the moment you are still trying to fill the void. Sex won’t fill it. I can’t stop you from having it, but I’m asking you to just make sure you are ready emotionally.”

Wanda looked at the women curiously, “what experience are you speaking from?”

Natasha thoughtfully considered her words, “I grew up in the Red Room Wanda, affection was not freely given. The only affection we ever got was sexual in nature, so when I defected that was all I knew. I searched for affection in the arms of men and the occasional woman if the job required it. It wasn’t love, it just became a way to forget for a few minutes the feeling of loneliness. It was fake, it was the illusion of love and being wanted. Wanda I don’t want you to fall into that trap. I want you to have genuine relationships, but they take time to build so don’t rush into anything ok?”

Wanda nodded, understanding that it was difficult for Natasha to share this with her. “No, I understand what you are saying.”

Natasha smiled in relief, “You know you can always talk to me right?”

Wanda smiled back and jumped slightly into Natasha’s arms. “Yes I know, but can I have the rest of my hot chocolate now?”

………………………………………………………

Natasha left Wanda asleep. She always napped after a punishment it warmed her heart to see Wanda asleep totally relaxed. She knew the teenager struggled with sleep usually. Her brain would not shut off long enough to allow her to rest. Natasha hated the fact so much had happened in Wanda’s short life, so much she didn’t know, and so much that she knew Wanda struggled to come to terms with. 

She flicked the light off, to darken the room, and turned on the monitor. Natasha knew she was being a crazy helicopter parent, and that Wanda would be upset if she found out there were baby monitors throughout the house. Natasha had panic attacks if she didn’t know where Wanda was, the raft had left open wounds on the older woman. She had failed Wanda, and she would not fail her again. Steve had tried several times to reassure you, but it didn’t stop her occasionally getting out of bed in the middle of the night just to check Wanda was still there. 

Natasha looked at her watch on her wrist how was it only eleven in the morning? This day already felt endless. She shut her bedroom door slowly leaving the teenager to sleep, and tiredly wandered down the stairs. She entered the kitchen to see Steve and Peter talking animatedly. Clearly talking about some video game that was lost on Natasha. She tersely crossed her arms around her chest, and kept her eyes zeroed in on the teenager boy. Peter visibly flinched in response, and Steve just looked confused. 

“You got anything to tell us Peter?”

Peter looked at the two adults like a deer in the headlights. “Um… er…”

Natasha softened and approached the teenager, and pulled the chair out from the table and sat down opposite the boy. “Peter… I’m going to ask you a series of questions, and I need you to think very carefully about your answers.”

Peter nodded and gulped slightly.

“Did you know Wanda was sneaking out of school?”

Peter sighed but answered, “yes.”

“Did you know who she was meeting?” asked Natasha.

“I did,” replied Peter sadly. Natasha looked at Steve who looked surprised by this turn of events. 

“I’m sorry… I didn’t… I should have…”

Natasha grabbed his hand from across the table, “Peter, Calm down. You have been honest with us, you aren’t in trouble. It’s not your job to be Wanda’s keeper. I’m only going to ask in the future that you tell us, you won’t be in trouble for not telling us though.”

Peter looked at her in surprise, “I’m not in trouble.”

“If you had lied to me when I asked those questions then we would be having a very different conversation. I have two major rules, don’t lie to me, and don’t put yourself in danger. You were complicit but you didn’t hit either criteria,” explained Natasha. 

“I think I understand,” replied Peter. 

“Wanda is an adult beyond her years in many ways but in others she is younger than you. I need you to try and be a voice of reason in her life. She is older than you, but she isn’t,” Natasha hoped she was explaining it well. 

“What would happen if I broke one of those rules?” asked Peter curiously. 

“You would be punished,” stated Natasha firmly, “I know you think you are an adult, an avenger, a superhero, but you are still a child Peter.”

“I’m not a child, “ replied Peter, “I protected the city as Spiderman.”

“You are 100% a child Peter, and you are a child under our care,” said Natasha. “Steve and I promised Tony and May we would protect you. As a teenager that also means we need to protect you from yourself.”

……………………………………………………………………………………..

Natasha walked back up the stairs and slowly entered her bedroom. Wanda was still snoring quietly wrapped up in the duvet. She knew she needed to wake the kid or she wouldn’t sleep tonight. Natasha sat down on the bed and started running her fingers through Wanda’s hair, “Time to wake up little one.”

Wanda groaned, and tried to turn her face away from the noise. Natasha chuckled in response, “Come on baby, it’s lunch time.”

“No… I’ll stay here…”

“Not an option sweetheart,” she wrenched the duvet away from the teenager. 

“Mama! It’s cold!”

“No it’s not,” replied Natasha with a smirk. Wanda placed her head on Natasha’s lap in defeat. Natasha placed a comforting hand on the teenagers back under her shirt and started rubbing small circles. 

“What have we got for lunch?”  
“Tomato soup and grilled cheese,” stated Natasha, “So come on..”

Wanda groaned but sat herself up, unable to hide her flinch as her backside made contact with the mattress. Natasha gave her a sympathetic look, “let me check you out.”

“No!” moaned Wanda, “must you be this embarrassing all the time?”

“No, but I could be worse,” said Natasha jokingly as she pressed exaggerated kisses to her cheeks and forehead. 

“Pack it in!” giggled Wanda. 

“You sure you ok?” asked Natasha sincerely.

“I’m good,” replied Wanda. Natasha cocked an eyebrow in response, “I promise Mama.” Wanda smiled at the older woman, she wrapped her arms around the woman, “I know lunch is ready but…”

“But what?” asked Natasha.

“Can we stay here for a minute,” asked Wanda nervously blushing. Natasha looked at the teenager in surprise, it was unusual for her to ask, usually she had to control the situation.

Natasha just wrapped the teenager into her arms and leaned back into the bed. Wanda rested her head on Natasha’s chest and listened to the steady thudding of her heartbeat. 

…………………………………………………………………………..

Natasha sat outside the coffee shop, it was cool but not cold enough that she could see her breath in the air. She wrapped the scarf around her neck, as she glanced around the street. 

Vision saw her and took a seat at the table, “I’m assuming Wanda will not be seeing me today?”

Natasha shook her head, “No she will not.”

Vision sighed and flopped slightly into his chair. Natasha kept her eyes on the android who was in his human form. 

“Are you angry at me?” asked Vision. 

“I think you know the answer to that,” replied Natasha tightly. 

“I would never hurt Wanda, Agent Romanoff,” said Vision.

“Do not call me that here, it’s Mrs Rushman,” cut in Natasha angrily. 

“Of course,” replied Vision apologetically. He looked up at her, “Will you let me see her again?”

“You mean after you snuck around behind my back and endangered my teenage daughter’s life,” said Natasha as she struggled to keep the anger out of her voice. 

“I didn’t mean to…. I just wanted to see Wanda. I miss her.”

Natasha ran her hand through her hair, “I don’t trust you Vision. I don’t know what you are or who you are.”

Vision saddened at her words. “but Wanda does trust you, I will give you a chance. You can see Wanda but it’s on my terms. You break any of my rules and I won’t let you within miles of my kid.”

Vision brightened up at those words as Natasha continued to speak, “we can meet for dinner tonight, there is a Chinese place we know. You are to never come to our house, I can’t risk Wanda and Peter’s safety in that way.”

Vision sat up, “I appreciate your understanding, ag.. Mrs Rushman.”

Natasha nodded and put her hand out for him to shake. When he grabbed it, she tightened her grip harshly, “Just to be clear you upset or hurt my kid. I will destroy you. You push her into anything she is not ready for, I will destroy you. Then I’ll have Tony put you back together so that Steve can destroy you all over again.”

She pointed over to a man who was sat a few tables over watching them intently. Steve nodded and waved awkwardly from his position. 

“I understand entirely Mrs Rushman.”


	31. Protecting a Minor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I honestly had no intention of updating again so quickly, but then trebles and tones posted a gift for me. And then this happened... So blame her...
> 
> This chapter contains some adult references.. well a teenage sex conversation.( we know actual teenagers are a lot worse than this)
> 
> and some implied stuff that may be difficult for some people, please be reassured that this isn't going to some dark descriptive place. I'm more concerned with the characters then going into detail about events if that makes any sense! Well it will make more sense once you have read this. 
> 
> Thank you so much for the lovely comments, it really does inspire something which unfortunately a few people have realised to the detriment of my social life! 
> 
> Enjoy.

“So is it just robot’s that turn you on? Or should I make sure you are not left alone with the fridge?”

Wanda playfully slapped Peter on the arm as they walked towards the cafeteria. “Shut it Parker.”

“I just don’t get it,” replied Peter, “what’s the appeal of him?”

“He doesn’t treat me like I’m damaged,” stated Wanda. “I’m just normal.”

“I don’t treat you like you are damaged,” said Peter in a confused tone.

“You are sweet Peter but you aren’t my type,” replied Wanda matter of factly. 

“Gross, Wanda. You are like my sister,” Peter scrunched up his nose as he said the words. “Though to be fair, who knows what your type is? I mean the Breville Toaster in the kitchen is pretty much the same colour as Vision…”  
“Ha Ha Ha,” deadpanned Wanda, “How many more of these jokes should I expect?”

“But serious question? As Vision is a machine, does that mean that he is technically the same as a vibrator. So does that mean that sex with him counts as masturbation?” 

“For the love of god Peter please shut up,”stated Wanda giggling at the teenager in annoyance. 

“So what is your type?” asked Peter curiously. “because no offence but Vision is like an old man.”

“Technically he is younger than me,” said Wanda with a smirk.

“You know what I mean,” moaned Peter. “I mean what’s the attraction?”

Wanda shrugged her shoulders at him. Peter carried on speaking, “I mean are you planning to…. you know…”

“You can call it sex Peter and maybe….I promised Mama I wouldn’t rush into anything though,” explained Wanda. 

“So how do you think the meeting is going?”

Wanda rolled her eyes, “Knowing them Mama is making some sort of threat….”

“Well obviously,” replied Peter. “You are her cute little baby.” He leaned over and pinched her cheek dramatically. 

“Seriously Peter stop that,” moaned Wanda. “I can’t help that she is crazy protective.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” said Peter curiously. 

“It’s pressure, do I really deserve someone who cares for me in that way?”

Peter’s smile dropped from his face, “You deserve it Wanda, more than you realise.”

He worked to change the conversation quickly sensing the change in tone. “Hey Look, Aunty Nat is back.”

They watched as Natasha held her key fob in front of the sensor and entered the gate that surrounded the school. Wanda rushed over, “how did it go…Is he ok? When can I see him..”

Natasha smirked at the teenager, “calm down Wanda. You will see him tonight, I will explain it all to you on the way home, but for now you have History to get to,” she turned her attention back to Peter, “You to Parker…”

“Mama… please…” 

Natasha narrowed her eyes at the teenager, “Now Wanda, class.”

“I’m not a dog to be ordered around,” snarked back Wanda. 

“Don’t start Wanda, I mean it.”

Wanda just glared at the woman, and turned abruptly mumbling profanities under her breath. 

“I heard that,” snapped Natasha, “another word and I’ll be washing your mouth out later with soap.”

“See you later Aunty Nat,” said Peter in bemusement before turning to chase after the angry stamping witch. 

Natasha shook her head berating herself, where in the world had that threat some from. When had she become such a mom. She slapped her hand lightly again her head in annoyance at herself. Idiot. 

……………………………………………………………

Wanda slammed the car door shut behind her, and turned quickly to Natasha who was sat in the driver’s seat. “Talk,” she demanded. 

Natasha raised her eyebrow at the teenager. “Who do you think you are talking to?”

“Mama,” whinged Wanda. 

“I’m being serious Wanda,” Natasha was secretly delighted by the teenager’s attitude as it meant she was getting more comfortable in her surroundings. She was no longer the skittish girl who thought she was going to be tossed onto the streets if she blinked at someone. Natasha had to remind herself she wanted this, and the consequential teenager angst that came with it. “Stop the attitude Wanda. Do you need a timeout?”

“Mama, I’m not a little child,” said Wanda in annoyance. 

“Then stop behaving like one,” Wanda crossed her arms against her chest and slouched lower into the chair. Natasha craned her head back towards Peter who had got into the back, “Hey Peter, good day?”

Peter just nodded awkwardly, “yeah great thanks.”

Natasha turned back to Wanda, “belt on Wanda.”

Wanda rolled her eyes at the older woman, but clicked the belt into place, aware the car would just beep angrily at her until she did put it on. Stupid unnecessary safety features in the car. 

Natasha put the car into drive and drove out of the school car park. They drove in silence, Wanda reached over to turn the radio but Natasha slapped her hand away from the console.   
“So now I can’t listen to music,” groaned Wanda in agitation. 

“When we get home I want you to go upstairs to my room and stand in the corner,” stated Natasha firmly.

Wanda turned at her in shock, “No, you can’t be serious, that’s not fair. I haven’t broken the rules.” Wanda was starting to panic slightly. Natasha turned to her in concern, before indicating and pulling the car over. “Wanda what’s wrong??”

“You promised….”

Natasha look at her in confusion, “Promised what?”

Wanda turned back to her in anger, “You are an abusive asshole.”

Natasha’s expression changed abruptly, “The only one being abusive right now is you.” Natasha put her indicators back on and pulled away down the street. Peter just stayed very quiet in the back, and the only sound that was heard was the clicking of the indicator. 

…………………………………………………

As soon as Natasha pulled into the parking space, Wanda wrenched open the door and stormed off towards the house. Natasha turned tiredly to peter, “anything I should know? Or be aware of?”

“I’m as confused as you,” replied Peter honestly. 

Natasha sighed and banged her head against the steering wheel. 

Steve smiled at her and greeted her with a kiss as she walked through the door, “So what’s happening with hurricane Wanda?”

Natasha sighed, “I don’t even know, but hurricane is an apt term. What did she say to you?”

“She just muttered some what I assume are Russian profanities under her breath, before kicking her shoes off and storming up the stairs,” replied a dazed and slightly confused Steve.

Natasha sighed again, “Let me go speak to her…”

When Natasha entered the room, she was relieved to see Wanda standing in the corner as instructed. Natasha couldn’t see her face, she could tell by the heaving off her shoulders that the teenager was crying. 

“Wanda come talk to me,” stated Natasha. 

“No, just get it over with….” said Wanda in resigned bitterness.

“Get what over with?” asked a genuinely confused Natasha. 

“Don’t make me say it,” moaned Wanda. Natasha walked over and sat on the bed, and beckoned the teenager over, “Come here Wanda.”

Wanda sighed but made her way over to the woman, she went to lean over her lap but Natasha stopped her, “What are you doing Wanda?”

Wanda looked at her in confusion, “You had me stand in the corner that always leads to….”

Everything finally clicked into place for Natasha. “Oh Wanda, I wanted you to go to the corner to just calm down and have a few minutes to yourself. You have a terrible temper that always gets you in trouble. You have got to stop flying off the handle and always thinking you know what’s going to happen.”

“Ohh,” replied Wanda weakly. She blushed in embarrassment and then shame, “I’m sorry I called you an abusive asshole….”

“You will be if you do that again Wanda, I know we have discussed you lashing out before.”

“Yes, we have. I’m sorry I’m just nervous about Vision,” explained Wanda.

“Wanda, I haven’t stopped you seeing him, as much as part of me wants to. You know I’m uncomfortable with your relationship with him. He’s not an ‘uncle’ to you. He is an adult and you are not. You behaviour today just further proves to me that you are too young….”

“Mama please,” said Wanda, “I won’t ever curse at you again.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” said Natasha with a smile. “We are going to see Vision tonight. I’m not going to stop you seeing him, but I have told him your relationship is to be entirely platonic.”

Wanda looked at her confusion, “I’m not familiar with that word.” 

“Platonic, as in not sexual or romantic,” explained Natasha.

Wanda looked at her in anger, “you said you wouldn’t dictate my sex life. You said it was my choice.”

“Sex is a joint decision, which means Vision would also need to consent. Which he won’t do if he wishes to see you.”

“I knew there would be some sort of trick, you were being far to relaxed about it all,” shouted Wanda. “You are such a double agent.”

“I am protecting you,” said Natasha. 

“No one has cared about protecting me from older men before!’ shouted Wanda in anger. 

Natasha paled in shock, “What do you mean by that?”

Wanda quickly tried to close Pandora’s box back up, “I… just.. I meant nothing. Forget I said anything.”

“I can’t forget that Wanda. You need to explain that comment to me,” said Natasha as she moved closed to the teenager, who just recoiled back. 

“It meant nothing. Can I please go get changed out of this uniform?”

“Wanda we have to talk about this,” said Natasha gently. 

“I’d rather not,” said Wanda tiredly. 

Natasha looked at the teenager, “We had planned to meet with Vision tonight as a family, but I’m going to cancel. That outburst confirms it, you are not seeing him alone any time soon.”

“Vision has never touched me,” yelled Wanda in annoyance. 

“Yes, but someone else has? haven’t they?”

Wanda just screwed her mouth shut in anger before finally deciding on her words, “That’s nothing to do with Vision.”

“It has everything to do with him, Victim’s get stuck in cycles of abuse Wanda. You fall into the same traps.”

“I’m not a victim,” spat out Wanda, “you are putting words in my mouth. You are assuming things.” 

“I’ve always known something happened,” replied Natasha, “you have just finally confirmed it. You can see Vision if you agree to talk to someone it’s doesn’t have to be me.”

“That’s blackmail,” snapped Wanda.

“No it’s not Wanda, It’s me taking care of you.”

…………………………………………………………………………………..

Vision looked sad, as he saw only Steve approaching him at the table, “She changed her mind…”

Steve took in the sad expression on the android’s face, “I’m sorry Vision, but Nat is only looking out for Wanda. This doesn’t mean you won’t see her again, she just needs some more time.” Steve handed him a card, “This is my phone number, check in with me, and maybe we can have coffee soon, the three of us.”

“I promised to follow everything though,” stated Vision.

“We know you did and we appreciate that, but this is more about Wanda and what she is ready for. She is so fragile Vision,” explained Steve honestly.

“May I write to her?” asked Vision. Steve nodded and in response Vision pulled a letter from his coat. Steve looked at him in surprise, “I have expected and prepared for this….”

Steve took the letter from his outstretched hand and pocketed it into his own jacket. “I am sorry Vision.”

Vision just watched as Steve turned and walked away from him.  
………………………….

“How did he take it?” asked Natasha laying in their bed, waiting for Steve to undress. “Better than I expected, “replied Steve.

Natasha just sat in the bed and rubbed her temples. “We are doing the right thing Nat.I know she is mad right now, but we are.”

“I know we are. I just hate seeing her so upset,” explained Natasha.

“How did the rest of the evening go?” asked Steve. He knew that Wanda had been refusing to speak to Natasha before he left to meet Vision.

“ As expected I had a snarky angry teenager all evening. I ended up sending her to bed with a swat to her backside,” said Natasha annoyed at her herself for snapping at the teenager. 

Steve pulled on his sweats and crawled into their bed. Natasha almost looked disappointed at his attire, as she was hoping for some adult related activities that evening. 

Steve clearly noticed her face change, “there is a storm tonight Nat,” he explained. Natasha snorted, “Do you really think Wanda will come to us tonight? She is so mad at us.”

“It’s why I know she will,” said Steve simply. 

Wanda woke up as soon as the rain starting falling heavily against her bedroom window pane. She saw the flash of lighting and then the booming thunder struck. It sent her heart palpitating, her body convulsed slightly in fear. She took a deep breath to calm herself, she held her breath and tried to listen to her own heartbeat. It was a method she knew helped her calm herself, but before she could finish counting, another crack of thunder resonated through the air. She swallowed the air she was holding and coughed and spluttered in response. “I can do this, it’s just a storm. I’ve handled worse. Logically it’s just,” Wanda muttered under her breath. She had memorised the scientific American description of thunder. ‘Thunder is caused by lightning, which is essentially a stream of electrons flowing between or within clouds, or between a cloud and the ground. The air surrounding the electron stream is heated to as hot as 50,000 degrees Farhenheit, which is three times hotter than the surface of the sun. As the superheated air cools it produces a resonating tube of partial vacuum surrounding the lightning's path. The nearby air rapidly expands and contracts. This causes the column to vibrate like a tubular drum head and produces a tremendous crack. As the vibrations gradually die out, the sound echoes and reverberates, generating the rumbling we call thunder.’ Wanda kept repeating the definition over and over again in her head. Why did it still terrify her? She knew what it was, she knew it couldn’t hurt. Her frustration was starting to grow, the adults in her life suspected why she was so affected by the storms, the sounds clearly reminded her of bombs, and it was a version of PTSD. Anytime they made that suggestion to the teen she just shrugged them off immediately.

Wanda wrenched the duvet away from her body and took off down the hallway, settling on the place she always went too. She didn’t even bother to knock. Steve was asleep, the American could sleep through anything if he wanted to. Natasha was sat up reading a book, the nearby light illuminated the room lightly. 

Natasha looked up at the distraught teenager, she placed her book on the bedside table, “Come on baby.”

Wanda didn’t say anything she just rushed over to the bed. She climbed over the older woman, with no grace, settling into the middle of bed and resting her head on Natasha’s chest. Natasha started to stroke her head in reassurance, “You are ok sweetheart. You are safe with us.” Another clap of thunder caused Wanda to grip Natasha tighter.


	32. Vasovagal syncope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello... small update as I owed treble and tones. so serving back to you mate...
> 
> This is a pretty heavy chapter, it is not explicit in any way. To be clear I won't go into any real description of the past I have built for Wanda, as I'm more concerned with the emotional reactions.

Wanda woke up slowly, she felt a soothing patting against her bottom. She snuggled further into Natasha in response letting out a sigh of contentment. Natasha pushed the hair out of Wanda’s face with her free hand and laid a kiss to her forehead. 

“Wakey Wakey,” sung Natasha. “We need to get up and get ready for school.”

Wanda just groaned and shut her eyes tighter, pushing her face into the duvet. 

“That won’t work sweetheart,” Natasha responded and patted her backside with a bit more force. 

“Five more minutes,” she whimpered out turning to bury her face back into Natasha’s neck. 

“Nope,” replied Natasha popping the P, “Also after school we need to talk, don’t think for a second I’m going to let you put that genie back in the bottle.”

Wanda’s face soured and she wretched herself away from Natasha’s hold, “Fine.”

“Don’t get like this Wanda,” chided Natasha.

“You aren’t listening to me. I don’t want to talk about it,” stated Wanda firmly.

“Ok,” replied Natasha easily. 

“Ok?” questioned Wanda in slight disbelief about how easily Natasha had given in.

“I can’t make you talk Wanda, but you won’t be seeing Vision until you do,” said Natasha simply.

Wanda’s face dropped, as she pouted unhappily at her mother. “Mama, that’s not fair.”

Natasha stuck her finger out and playfully flicked Wanda’s bottom lip, “Look at that pout.”

Wanda roared slightly in anger, “Don’t patronise me.”

Natasha pulled the teenager into her arms, “Little one, I’m not changing my mind on this. I love you, but this isn’t negotiable in the slightest.”

Wanda sighed and shrugged her shoulders, “Can we stay home from school then?”

Natasha quirked an eyebrow at her, “I wish we could baby, but we need to keep our cover.”

Natasha watched Wanda’s face fall, “but we can talk tonight, just me and you if you want?”

“Maybe,” replied Wanda. Natasha watched as the wall went straight back up again, she cursed herself, she should have just agreed to stay home. 

………………………………………………

Wanda felt distracted she was honestly trying to focus on the lessons. She grabbed her bag when the bell rang heading towards her locker to grab her kit. Gym was next period, or P.E as it was called in the UK. Every lesson they just seemed to be playing netball, she wasn’t sure what the obsession with this ridiculous game was in the UK. The only place you seemed to play it was at High school, then it was never spoken of or seen again. 

The rules were so complex to her, you had to wear the most ridiculous bibs, and remember what position you were, as it determined where you could be on the court. Wanda did not understand why they always had to play this game. She got ejected from her last lesson, as apparently it was against the rules to throw the ball into the opposition’s stomach at point blank range when they were trying to block you. Though it did make the boys laugh. It seemed entirely sexist that they were allowed to play football/soccer while she had to play this ridiculous game. 

Wanda sat by her peg on the bench in the changing rooms, she couldn’t explain this feeling in the point of her stomach. She felt dizzy and sick and she didn’t know why. Wanda took a deep breath, as she felt her chest constrict and her throat tighten. Was she having a panic attack? She put her head between her legs to try and stop herself from feeling so faint. Wanda’s head was pounding as she felt memories and images invade her mind. 

“Wanda are you ok?” asked Becky in concern from her seat across the room. 

Wanda shook her head vigorously as she tried to get a grip on herself. “No…” she whimpered. 

“Miss!” shouted Becky heading towards the door, “Miss! Wanda isn’t well!”

Wanda put her hands above her head, the room felt like it was getting smaller and smaller. She had to get out, she had to escape, she got to her feet and staggered towards the door. That was the last thing Wanda remembered seeing before she blacked out. 

………………………………

Natasha rushed towards the nurse’s office as soon as she heard. She burst into the small room and saw her teenager awake but holding an ice pack to her forehead. Natasha approached her kid and gently pulled away the ice away in order to check her head and grimaced at the bruise forming there. 

“What happened?”

Wanda just shook her head, “Just decided I needed to say hello to the wall. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

Natasha pursed her lips in annoyance, “Wanda I would think very carefully before you answer again, you know how I deal with lies.”

Wanda grimaced, “I passed out.”

“Ok let’s get you home sweetheart,” explained Natasha. 

………………………………………..

Wanda and Natasha walked silently into the house, Wanda hung her coat on the peg in the hallway. She then went to escape up the stairs to her bedroom, but Natasha grabbed her arm. “Wanda we need to talk,” explained Natasha gently. Wanda wrenched her arm away from the older woman.

“My head hurts and I’m tired, I just want to lie down,” exhaled Wanda in annoyance. 

“Wanda please…”

“Fine,” stomped Wanda brushing past the woman with her shoulder and heading into the kitchen. She angrily threw open the fridge and pulled out the carton of fresh orange juice. Wanda unscrewed the cap and watched it fall to the floor, she brought the box to her lips and chugged down some of the contents messily. 

Natasha raised an eyebrow at her, as she placed the now cap-less juice back into the fridge, “You finished?”

“Are we done?” asked Wanda back with attitude. 

‘Sit now,” stated Natasha firmly, pointing at the table. Wanda rolled her eyes but took a seat dropping dramatically with a loud bang as the wooden chair leg angrily connected with the floor. 

Natasha approached her and gently laid a hand on her head, Wanda flinched at the contact. “Does it hurt?”

“It’s fine, barely a bruise,” explained Wanda averting her eyes away from the concerned look on Natasha’s face. 

“What’s going on sweetheart?”

“Nothing is going, just having a bad day,” said Wanda firmly. 

“Why won’t you talk to me?” asked Natasha keeping the same gentle tone. 

“I want to talk to Natasha Romanoff,” said Wanda. Natasha looked at her in confusion, “That’s who I am, I mean I know we are using fake identities at the minute, but I’m still who I am…”

“That’s not what I meant,” replied Wanda. 

“Then what did you mean?” queried Natasha. 

“I mean I want to speak to Natasha and not my mama,” said Wanda awkwardly. 

“We are the same Wanda.”

“No you aren’t. Natasha Romanoff wouldn’t be looking at me with a pitying expression like you are. Natasha Romanoff wouldn’t be babying me or treating me like glass,” explained Wanda.

“I don’t pity you Wanda, don’t confuse pity with love and pride,” said Natasha, she took a seat opposite the teenager at the table. 

“Pride? What do you have to be proud of? I’m pathetic, I had a panic attack and passed out in a school changing room,” snorted Wanda. 

“I’m so proud of you Wanda,” replied Natasha.

“Can I speak to Natasha please?” asked Wanda again. 

“Ok,” said Natasha, “If that’s what you need…”

Wanda coughed in response, “Nat, have you ever read Crime and Punishment?”

Natasha looked at her in confusion, but recognised that she needed to change the subject, “I have, why do you ask?”

“Do you believe in moral nihilism?” asked Wanda, she lifted her head up to look Natasha in the eyes, this allowed the woman to see the unshed tears. Natasha knew she couldn’t react to her kid’s distress, it was the only thing she had requested for this conversation. It was hurting her to see her daughter in such pain. 

“Wanda, why are you asking me this?” she replied keeping her voice steady. 

Wanda shook her head, “No just answer the question.”

“I did at one point, when I was the black widow, when I was the tool of the KGB. I was not concerned with morality,” Natasha answered the question honestly. “It wasn’t my place to question motives or reasons.”

“When did you first question it?” asked Wanda curiously. 

“I’m not sure,” Natasha thoughtfully replied, “I don’t think there was a specific moment, more the final straw that broke the camel’s back.”

“What’s more important legality or morality?” questioned Wanda rhetorically. Natasha just let her carry on talking realising she wasn’t actually asking her the question. “I mean the Holocaust was legal but arguably immoral. If it’s not a crime at the time it occurred does it make it a crime afterwards?”

“Why don’t you tell me what example you are thinking of?” asked Natasha keeping her tone even. 

“Is it even wrong if I didn’t say no?” stated Wanda in a monotone voice. Natasha’s breath caught in her throat. You could have heard a pin drop in the room. Wanda shook slightly in her seat as she struggled to contain her emotions. “I mean it’s not is it. It’s never simple is it? Things would be so much easier if…. I mean how do you …”

Natasha reached over and grabbed Wanda’s hand firmly. “How old were you Wanda?”

Wanda shook her head, and dropped her chin back to the floor.

“Wanda, answer the question. I don’t need to know anything else. I won’t ask anything else,” said Natasha firmly.

“12,” whispered Wanda, but Natasha heard the response. 

“It was wrong,” stated Natasha firmly. “Regardless of any other scenario. It was wrong.”

“You don’t know the circumstance,” explained Wanda. “it’s complicated.”

“No it’s not,” replied Natasha, “You had a panic attack Wanda. Even if you don’t want to admit it right now. You know on a level it was wrong. The way you are reacting now reveals the truth to me.”

Wanda carried on shaking her head, “No I’m just being weird. You know how weird I am.” She laughed awkwardly as she tried to deflect from the conversation. 

“No,” said Natasha unwilling to compromise on this point. “Just say it Wanda. You know the truth.”

Wanda stood up from the chair, “you weren’t there, you don’t know the truth. You are just seeing a sad pathetic girl and thinking the worst. You ever think I asked for it? Ever think I deserved it?”

“You were 12 Wanda,” repeated Natasha again.

“So what? I wasn’t an idiot. I had already seen my parents die. I wasn’t a little kid,” argued Wanda. 

“You were 12 Wanda,” repeated Natasha. she pushed her chair away and moved to stand next to the girl. 

“Maybe I wanted it. Maybe It was karma,” stuttered Wanda, struggling to keep the tears from streaming down her face. Natasha couldn’t hold back any and gathered the girl into her arms, “You were only 12 Wanda,” she kept whispering the words into her ear. Wanda just sobbed into Natasha’s neck, as she was rocked gently in her hold. 

“Mama..” she finally whimpered out choking on her sobs. 

“Yes,” said Natasha.

“I was abused…” came the whimpering reply.

“I know baby,” was the reply, as Natasha just gripped the sobbing teenager tighter.


	33. Rationalising Denial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay. Hope you enjoy.

Natasha was running her hand through Wanda’s hair as she napped on her. They had retired to the living room. Natasha was sat reclined in the armchair, Wanda was laying in between her legs with her head resting on her chest. She was curled up comfortably in her grasp. Steve walked into the living room, and smiled at the sight in front of him, though it dropped when he took in the tear stained cheeks of the younger female.

“What happened?” asked Steve in concern.

Natasha shook her head, “We talked.”

Steve’s expression became grim, “Is it as you expected?”

Natasha nodded sadly, “Yes.”

Steve cringed and shook slightly, “What are we doing about it?”

“Nothing,” replied Natasha simply, though she was talking to Steve her eyes never left Wanda’s prone form. 

“What do you mean nothing? Surely we need to mobilise the team. Go arrest him,” expressed Steve. The rage he felt demonstrated in the staccato way his words were coming out. 

“It’s outside of our jurisdiction Steve, and it needs to be Wanda’s decision,” explained Natasha gently. “Healing is more important than anything else.” She ran her fingers through Wanda’s hair again and smiled as the girl even in her sleep moved towards her loving touch. 

“What about justice?” questioned Steve in anger. 

“I love your idealism Steve, but there is no justice here. Maybe revenge but no justice.”

Steve visibly deflated as he took in Natasha’s words, “what do we do then? I can’t do nothing.”

“We look after her, we help her and we treat her as well have always done,” stated Natasha. She stoked Wanda’s cheek tenderly. 

“How do you know it will work?” asked Steve sceptically, he crossed his arms against his chest. 

“Well it worked for me,” was the short response. 

………………………………………..

The school was alive with rumours. Peter hoisted his backpack further up his back, as he walked away from the whispers. He grabbed his phone out his pocket and sent a quick text to Wanda, checking in. Peter approached his locker and quickly swapped the books out of his bag and replaced it with the bag that was already in there. He covertly looked over his shoulder before stuffing it into his backpack. Peter walked out of the school, and glanced awkwardly around the car park for a familiar car. He already knew that Natasha had left early with Wanda, he was just hoping they hadn’t forgotten about him. Peter awkwardly kicked a stone by his foot out onto the road. 

He smiled when he saw Steve pull up on his car. “Was beginning to think you had forgotten about me?”

“Get in,” replied Steve with a smirk. “It’s our job to pick up dinner.”

“Takeaway on a monday? That’s unheard of,” joked Peter. “You feeling ok?”

Steve laughed but then turned more serious, “Your cousin and aunt have had a tough day, so a relaxed evening with a pizza seems the best idea.”

Peter nodded in understanding, “Is Wanda ok?”

“She is going to be fine,” said Steve firmly. 

…………………………………………………

Natasha placed gentle kisses to the top of Wanda’s head in order to rouse the girl. “Wake up trouble.”

Wanda groaned, “Why do you always wake me up?”

“Why do you always fall asleep on me?” replied Natasha jokingly. Wanda’s expression fell, “I was only joking,” Natasha quickly said, after seeing Wanda’s face. ‘I love that you are comfortable enough to fall asleep on me.”

“I’m not a baby,” moaned Wanda.

“I actually remember you as a baby. You were so cute. Your little chubby cheeks,” Natasha pinched her cheek playfully to emphasise the point. 

“Yeah, well it was only a few months ago,” snorted Wanda sardonically. 

“And I loved every minute,” replied Natasha quickly to shut down any negative train of thought that could her kid. She could almost see the cogs turning in Wanda’s head. “What are you thinking?”

“Do you ever wish you had a real child?” asked Wanda curiously, wrapping her hand around the bottom of Natasha’s T-shirt. She played with the fabric between her fingers focusing on the sensation of the cotton on her skin. 

Natasha just gripped her tighter in her ams, “just to be clear Wanda you are a real child.”

Wanda scrunched up her nose, “you know what I mean. I’m also not a child.”

“No I don’t,” stated Natasha firmly, “and yes you are.”

“You are being facetious,” moaned Wanda.

“Well at least I know the english lessons are having a positive effect,” joked Natasha. 

Wanda grumbled but snuggled further into Natasha’s arms, “I love you.”

“I love you to, now come on we really do have to get up.”

“Thank you.. for you know… “ Wanda tapered off awkwardly. They both knew they were not ready to talk anymore. They both needed time to digest what have been revealed and Wanda was too raw to go into any more detail. 

“I’m here for when you need me,” stated Natasha gently with a smile reassuring the teenager without prying. 

……………………………………………………….

Wanda lay on her bed that night, her mind was not letting her rest as her thoughts raced. She reached into her bedside table and pulled out the Stark version of an iPod. It had been a gift from Tony. She hadn’t used it since before the accords, but her rage was starting to subside slightly. Not using the device because of some resentment towards Tony almost felt at this point as if she was cutting off her nose to spite her face. 

Wanda couldn’t help but smile as she remembered bonding with Tony over music. She unwrapped the headphones that had been messily contained around the device. Tony had said she could have wireless ones, but she oddly preferred the connection the tethered devices gave her, on a strange level it kept her grounded. 

She switched the device on, plugged the earphones into her ears and clicked the shuffle button. Wanda smirked and laid her head back down onto the pillow as the opening riffs played of ‘Tonight Tonight’ by the Smashing Pumpkins. She always found music soothing to her soul as Wanda lost herself in the music. It reminded her of Tony and messing around in the Lab with him. The memory was bittersweet, it felt both so recent and also a lifetime ago. The device clicked to the next song, and she sat up shocked as the voice spoke to her, “Hey Sabrina, I hope you are looking after yourself. I know things didn’t go well and you are probably super pissed at me.”

Wanda sat bolt up and turned the device over in her hand. It was just a recording, she relaxed slightly and listened to the words. Of course Tony had managed to send a voice recording to a Stark device. It made her nervous but it also made her realise that Tony was on their side, as he could have turned them in at any point. Tony’s voice continued to speak to her, “Natasha and I thought we were doing what was best to protect you. I know it didn’t work out that way mostly because you are a stubborn little asshole sometimes and wouldn’t just say put. Honestly Maximoff you are going to make Natasha grey.” 

The voice turned more serious on the device, “I am sorry about the raft though Wanda I never meant for things to go down in that way. I hope you can forgive me, and when all this mess gets fixed we can go see another gig and eat schwarma though if you could avoid buying illicit drugs that would be great.” Wanda snorted in response, but smiled none the less. “Natasha nearly killed me for that Sabrina. Please look after Peter for me, and give him a hug from me. I hope to see you soon kiddo, and well I love your stupid face.”

The device then clicked over to the next song, leaving a slightly stunned Wanda sat there. 

………………………….

Natasha couldn’t sleep, Steve was snoring lightly in the bed beside her. She sighed and slowly got up, grabbing the dressing gown off the back of the door. Natasha dropped her phone into the pocket and wrapped it tightly around her body. She padded softly out of the room down the stairs into the kitchen. 

Natasha was not sure why sleep was escaping her at this point. It could be her own grief or her concern for her child. She rubbed her temples to try and self soothe. The tension was building. She flopped into the kitchen chair at the table, and rested her elbows on the table to support her head. Everything ached and everything hurt, rationally she knew it was all psychosomatic but at this point she was to far gone to care. 

Natasha shakily pulled her phone out of her dressing gown pocket, dialled the familiar number. She listened carefully holding her breath as she waited to hear the voice she knew would soothe her aching chest . 

“Tash?”

Natasha nodded before realising in her stupidity that Laura could not see her through the phone. 

“Yeah, “ she choked out holding back the sob from her throat. Just hearing her voice was enough to make Natasha break. 

“Oh Tash, What’s going on?” asked Laura softly. 

“I don’t know what I am doing Lau. Everything is a mess. I’m a failure..” she sobbed out.

“Calm down Tash, that was lot to unpack there,” explained Laura.

Natasha gasped down the phone slightly as she tried to get a hold of her breathing. 

“Are you sat down?” asked Laura gently. 

Natasha nodded again before finally muttering, “yeah.” She slapped her head in annoyance, and doing the same thing twice. She was on the stupid phone. 

“Do you want to explain to me what is actually going on? As I know it’s the middle of the night for you?”

“I was right about Wanda….” stuttered out Natasha. 

“Ok, what did she say?” questioned Laura. 

“I mean she didn’t say it exactly but she implied it.…” said Natasha weakly. 

“Do you think you may be jumping to conclusions then?” explained Laura.

“No,” replied Natasha in anger. 

“Watch it Tasha,” warned Laura.

“But you are doubting it,” said Natasha.

“No I am not Natasha Romanoff. I am just warning you to not jump to assumptions like you doing right now,” explained Laura. 

Natasha exhaled loudly and limply over the phone. Laura had this amazing ability to make her feel like a child. She was supposed to be this strong unyielding avenger, the Black Widow, the scourge of the KGB. To Laura she was Tasha, vulnerable, damaged and flawed. 

“Maybe,” admitted Natasha reluctantly. 

“Yes as you always do, but Wanda isn’t you,” stated Laura firmly.

“I miss you, “ murmured Natasha. She clearly just wanted to change the subject, Natasha was not in the mood to rehash painful memories. 

“Tony told me he thinks you will be home for Christmas,” stated Laura gently understanding what Natasha needed. 

“You must think I’m being such a melodramatic idiot,” whimpered Natasha. 

“No, I thought you were a melodramatic idiot when you ran away from me at the farm and then thought I was going to shoot you,” teased the older woman knowing the joke would relieve the tension.

Natasha snorted and wiped the tears from her face, “in my defence it’s how the KGB would have dealt with the defection. I wasn’t expecting you to march me by my ear back into the farmhouse.”

“Well you were a little shit. It seemed the most appropriate way to deal with you,” joked Laura. 

“Did I ever say thank you?” questioned Natasha awkwardly. “I mean properly for everything you did for me?”

“We are family Nat. You don’t need to thank family,” responded Laura. 

“How did you know what to do and that it would work?” Natasha finally asked after pausing for a second. 

“I didn’t,” stated Laura simply, she moved the phone from one ear to the other. “You are questioning if you are handling Wanda correctly aren’t you?”

“Maybe I’m being too overbearing?” Natasha nervously questioned. 

“Don’t play that game Nat. You will drive yourself crazy. You just need to talk to her, let her get her feelings out. It worked excellently with you Tasha,” reassured Laura. 

Natasha rolled her eyes.

“I know you just rolled your eyes at me Natasha Romanoff,” snapped Laura. 

“How do you even know that??” moaned Natasha. 

“I know these things,” explained Laura with an all knowing grin. “Just like I know when I need to have an adult conversation with Nat, or when I need to speak to my Tasha.”

“I’m not that 17 year old kid that you took in any more Laura. That was a long time ago,” groaned Natasha. 

“It was,” agreed Laura, “time may have changed our relationship and you don’t still need the same things as before, but it doesn’t mean I won’t be here to catch you if I need to..”

“I don’t need a safety net,” replied Natasha in annoyance. 

“No of course you don’t, because I definitely called you at 2am in the morning crying down the phone,” said Laura playfully. Natasha baulked at the comment and her eyes narrowed in annoyance. 

“I won’t call next time,” was the snarky reply. 

“Tasha, there is no need for that. I was only teasing,” reprimanded Laura. 

“I don’t need you like that anymore,” alliterated the younger woman. 

“Natasha, you are getting petulant. There is nothing wrong with needing me in that way. I’m your family. I will always be your big sister,” Laura stated it firmly leaving no room for any argument from the ex-spy. 

“Sorry Lau, It’s been tough few weeks,” expressed Natasha tiredly.

“I know it has, but I’m always here for you.”


	34. O Tannenbaum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok... so this is pretty short, I just needed to push through my writer's block. Any comments greatly appreciated.

Wanda was cold. No that was wrong, she was freezing. She found it ironic considering she had lived on the streets in Sokovia for all those years, yet now she was cold. Wanda berated herself for going soft. She shoved the hat down further to cover her ears, and exhaled in annoyance. Wanda could see her breath in the air and shook her head in frustration turning angrily to Steve and Peter. “Could you two just make a a decision??!”

Wanda rubbed her hands together to try and create some friction. Natasha reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of gloves and held them out towards the teenager, “I told you, you would want these?”

Wanda snatched them from her, “Well I didn’t think it would take this long! I mean how much of a decision is this.”

Steve glanced back to her, “this is a key decision, if we get this wrong. it will ruin everything.”

Peter nodded along in agreement, as he continued to peruse the selection in front of him, reaching out a hand to thoroughly examine his options. 

Wanda stomped her foot in frustration, “I don’t understand this stupid American tradition.”

Natasha grabbed Wanda’s arm gently and pulled her towards her, “technically it’s European.”

Wanda relaxed into her arms. Natasha continued to speak, “also we are doing this for Peter and you. It will be nice I promise.”

Natasha turned back towards the two men, “Wanda’s cold, can we hurry this up a bit?”

Peter looked at her incredulously, “we can’t rush this. It has to be perfect…”

Steve shouted from a few metres down, “Peter, I think this is the one.” He rushed over to join the solider. 

“Finally!” muttered an exasperated Wanda. Natasha playfully kissed her head, “Stop being a grinch you.” She then pulled the hat over her eyes. 

“Mama!” groaned Wanda. Natasha laughed as she pulled away from the teenager, and then strode over to the two males, her boots crunching on the icy ground. 

“This is the one,” stated an excited Peter. Wanda pulled the hat up uncovering her eyes, and cocked her head to the side, as she glanced at the one that Peter was excitedly pointing towards. 

She looked thoughtful before finally exclaiming, “It looks exactly the same as the other 100 trees that are here….”

“No…” complained a smiling Steve, “look at that shape. This is the one.”

Natasha just laughed at the pair of them, “just agree Wanda if you want to go home any time today.”

“I still don’t see why we couldn’t just buy an artificial tree,” replied Wanda.

“Stop being a humbug,” joked Steve. “Real trees are better. Smell that, that smell is Christmas. I will convert you, when it’s all dressed in the living room you will love it.”

“Wait…Does that mean we have to buy decorations as well?”

Peter just smiled excitedly at the adults, “Yes! Can we go get them now?”

“We need to get the tree first Peter, and potentially get Wanda a coffee..”

“I vote yes on the coffee,” Wanda replied putting her hand into the air as if to vote. 

“Come on my little Grinch, Let’s get you a coffee, while the boys get the tree…”

………………………………………………………………

Wanda sipped slowly at her seasonal latte, as she took in the gaudy decorations in front of her. Peter seemed to be in his element picking out all the bright and garish decorations, and dropping them into the trolley with elvish glee. She hesitated as her eyes got drawn towards silver bird ornament adorned in silver, her hand reached out delicately to touch it. She retracted her hand sharply when a voice interrupted her, “you can have it.”

Natasha smiled at her warmly, as her Wanda’s hand dropped to her side. “I don’t need any of this,” said Wanda sadly. 

Natasha wrapped an arm around her shoulder, “you may not need any of this, but it’s ok to want it. We are spending Christmas as a family.”

Wanda snorted, “yeah just your average fugitive family.”

“Ssh you, now put it in the trolley,” explained Natasha.

“But it doesn’t match,” replied Wanda. She gestured towards the rest of the potentially tacky ornaments currently residing in the full trolley. 

“It doesn’t need to match Wanda,” said Natasha with warmth. 

Wanda looked back at her, “my mother’s tree at home was always silver, she said the other colours were always Tacky. Pietro always used to try and sneak this incredibly awful flashing reindeer decoration on the tree to see if she would notice.”

“Did she?” 

Wanda giggled, “Of course, it became a game. She would remove it and hide it somewhere and then Pietro would find it and put it back on. We never spoke about it, the game continued all December.”

Natasha’s smiled at hearing the giggle as Wanda opened up to her, but the mood changed as Wanda focused on the bird ornament again. “Do you think it’s wrong to celebrate and be happy?”

“No,” replied Natasha firmly, “We need to make new traditions together, while still remembering and honouring the past.”

The moment got interrupted by Peter thrusting an animatronic singing reindeer towards them, “Look at this! It sings and dances!”

Natasha quirked an eyebrow at the excited teenager who was trying to replicate the awkward dancing, before finally rolling her eyes, “fine put it in the trolley.”

Peter deposited it in with the rest of the Christmas decorations and rushed off back towards the Christmas lights. Wanda turned bemused to Natasha, “you are going to regret that.”

“Probably,” replied Natasha simply. “but remember I am a trained assassin, I can get rid of it if need be.”

Wanda just laughed out loud and linked arms with Natasha, “come on let’s go find Dad.”

………………………………………………………..

Steve dragged the tree through the house, and carefully placed it in situ. Peter followed excitedly behind him carrying more bags than what a teenage boy should have been capable of hauling. 

“You are like excited children,” stated Wanda though she was struggling to keep the smile of her face. Natasha quickly moved around the room making sure all the windows were covered, pulling the curtains all closed. 

“Um Mama? What are you doing? You planning to kill us?”

Natasha turned to the teenager with a flourish, “No we are going to decorate the tree.”

Wanda looked at the older woman oddly, “and that required you to close all the curtains, why exactly?”

“Because we are going to do it Avenger style,” explained Steve with a smirk. “Peter go get your webbing….”

Natasha glanced over to Wanda, “come on you get the ornaments moving.”

Wanda smirked before casually flicking her wrist, causing the baubles to float in the air surrounded by the wisps of red that where directing them as they danced around the room. Peter rushed back in and starting hanging the lights from ceiling using the webbing as an adhesive. Natasha turned on the music, as she watched the two teenagers laugh and rush around the room, giggling as they put up all the ornaments. 

Natasha turned and pulled Steve into her, “this was a great idea Steve.”

She rested her head onto his shoulder, “they both needed this.”

“We all needed this,” responded Steve. A fake snowball was then thrown towards the two adults, “Hey you need to help!”

“Fine, fine, fine,” moaned Natasha with a smile. 

……………………………………………….

“They both asleep?” whispered Steve, from his place on the sofa. Natasha looked down cautiously, “Well Wanda is out cold… Peter?”  
Steve turned his head, and he poked the teenager who was drooling onto his arm, “dead to the world,” he replied bluntly. 

“Thank god, I am exhausted,” Natasha replied, resting her head on his shoulder. 

“I think we had a good day,” replied Steve earnestly. 

“I think we did too,” said Natasha in agreement. “It was nice to not feel so burdened for once.” She glanced down at the lightly snoring Wanda, and smirked. “Why do they always look younger when they are asleep?” 

“It’s in the eyes,” stated Steve lightly.

“Maybe you are right,” said Natasha, she pulled the teenager possessively towards her. “Do you think we treat them too young? I mean they aren’t little kids.”

“They are kids they are entitled to a Christmas. Nothing wrong with a bit of magic.”

Natasha choked as she held back her laugh at him, “Ok, you have been as bad as the kids. I’m not sure who has enjoyed it more. Them or you?”

“Okay I admit it. I loved it. I love the tree and the decorations, but I love sharing it with all of you.”

“You are such a sappy fucker you know that?” joked Natasha.

“You said endearing gentleman wrong.”

“Oh did I?” smirked Natasha, she leant and kissed him firmly on the lips dragging her teeth slightly and nipping him playfully on his bottom lip. 

“You are a temptress Natasha Romanoff,” moaned Steve. Natasha winked before gently standing up, carefully extracting the sleeping teenager from her arms. 

“I’m going to carry her to bed, I suggest you put Peter to bed, and then we can continue this conversation in private.” 

“I like the way you think Romanoff.”

………………………………………………………………………………….

Peter paced in his bedroom, listening intently through the walls for the sounds of even breathing. He sighed in relief when he realised that the other occupants of the house were all asleep. His alarm had made sure he didn’t sleep though the night. Peter reached into his wardrobe and pulled out the articles of clothing that were hidden in the bottom. He quickly dressed, slapped his web shooters on and and covered his face with the black balaclava. The teenager then crept towards his bedroom window and carefully lifted the window before clambering out of the open space. 

The cool December air was freedom to the boy. He had missed this so much. He shot out his wrist and smiled as the sticky substance connected with a nearby building, he leaped forward and felt the wind rushing by his ears. Peter had been concerned about his ability to replicate the webbing in the uk, it had taken a few attempts but it seems he has finally cracked it. He soared and did a slight backflip before landing gracefully onto the road. He quickly shot back up into the air. 

It was so freeing, Peter loved the feeling of a city at night. He knew he shouldn’t be sneaking out at night but this just felt like something he needed. Peter rested for a few seconds on a nearby traffic light. He checked his watch realising he did not have long before he would have to head back to ensure he didn’t get caught. Peter smirked at the fact he had managed this for a month. Wanda served as a great distraction to everyone, it allowed him to go about his day, out of sight out of mind. The sound of a scream interrupted his serene thoughts. Peter rushed off to save the day, and then be back in bed before the rest of his family even knew he was gone.


	35. The penultimate days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enjoy everyone!

“Are you even listening to me Pete?” He turned to face the teenager, yawning as he did.

“Yeah, Sorry Wanda, just a bit tired,” explained Peter, stretching as they walked down the street. 

“So what do we do then?” asked Wanda again. She took a sip of her Starbucks as they walked down the street towards the underground station. 

Peter shrugged at her, “Maybe make something?”

Wanda scrunched her nose up in slight disgust, “We aren’t infants. We can’t just make something out of Paper mache.”

Peter smirked at Wanda, “Aunty Nat thinks you are the sun and world, You could give her a blank piece of paper for Christmas and she would gush.”

Wanda slapped him playfully on the arm, “You think you are so funny, but seriously we have no money.”

“They did say they didn’t want anything from us,” reminded Peter gently. Wanda snorted in response, “People always say that, they never mean it.”

“Well, we still don’t have any money,” stated Peter again. Wanda looked thoughtfully at the male, “We don’t need money we have abilities.”

Peter stopped walking abruptly, “What do you mean?”

Wanda turned to face him and rolled her eyes at his naivety, “I can just use my powers like I did to get this coffee.” She gestured to the cup in her hand. Peter looked down to the floor uncomfortable, he always felt this way when Wanda was so brazen. He knew a lot of it came from her history, but it was all foreign to him. 

“I don’t think uncle Steve, or Aunty Nat would like that,” warned Peter lightly, they started walking again down the street.

“But we would be doing it to do something nice for them,” explained Wanda in annoyance. 

Peter cocked an eyebrow at her, “Yeah… what do you think would happen if either of them found out. They know we don’t have any money…”

Wanda blushed under his knowing look, and looked away awkwardly. Peter just continued to explain, “You can’t just suddenly have money to spend, they would figure out how you did it.”

Wanda sighed in frustration, “you are right, I hate it when you are right.”

“Hey… I’m just trying to save your ass,” said Peter. 

“We can’t all be perfect like you Parker. Do you ever get bored of being such a goody goody,” moaned Wanda. 

Peter joked back at her, “I’m not a goody two shoes. I just work under a single philosophy.”

“Yeah, What’s that?”

“It’s not a crime if you don’t get caught,” laughed Peter nervously. Wanda narrowed her eyes at the teenager, “Like what?”

“It’s hypothetical,” replied Peter as they walked down the steps into the station. Wanda turned and gave him the look that reminded Peter of his Aunty Nat. 

“Don’t do that it’s creepy,” groaned Peter. 

“Well then talk Parker,” stated Wanda firmly, she dropped her coffee cup onto the floor, and then crossed her arms. Peter bent down and picked up the discarded trash, “I hate it when you do that.”

“What?? It’s not my fault there are no bins in stations,” replied Wanda. 

“Well you could have put it in the bin up top,” said Peter in annoyance. 

“I was still drinking it then,” explained Wanda in an obvious tone.

“You really are dick sometimes Maximoff,” said Peter dryly. 

“I never claimed to be anything different,” said Wanda sharply. Peter stepped into the train first and held firmly onto one of the hanging handles, as there was no seats on the packed train. Wanda sandwiched in close to him. “You know don’t have to give me all this bravado, I’ve seen you cuddling with Aunty Nat. I know you are soft really.”

Wanda pinched him vindictively in the side, causing the teenager to yelp, “Wanda! Pack that in you dick!”

A few of there fellow commuters glared at the teenagers creating such a disturbance. “well then shut it and tell me what you have clearly been up to?”

Peter sighed and jolted as the train left the station, he pulled Wanda into his body to keep her steady. “We can talk later, we will be meeting the guys soon….”

……………………………………………………….

“Nat, please stop pacing….” said Steve rolling his eyes at the agitated woman. “They have gone out to the shops for the day with some friends…”

“But she is delicate at the moment,” replied Natasha weakly. 

“A day out with friends is good for her and you know it. She needs to be a normal teenager,” explained Steve knowing he was just repeating what Natasha needed to hear. 

“I know, I’m being crazy,” stated Natasha in frustration. 

“Not crazy, just a Mama bear,” joked Steve, “we needed them out the house anyway.”

Natasha dropped into the kitchen chair, “When is Tony calling?”

“Shortly,” was Steve’s response. 

“Do you really trust he has sorted this?” questioned Natasha. “Do you really think we will be home by Christmas?” 

“We are home now,” said Steve. “Home is wherever you and Wanda are.”

“God… you really are a sentimental fool. You know what I meant,” stated Natasha though the smile on her face negated the harshness of her words. “I know you Steve, you must be itching to get back into that uniform.”

Steve walked up behind her and started rubbing her shoulders gently to help her release all the tension she was holding. “I’m actually not, I like this. Even if the accords are over, who is to say we have to back to being avengers?”

“Steve how can we honestly not?” 

“It wasn’t long ago you were talking about retiring. I know you want it, like Clint and Laura have…” said Steve. 

“It’s not that simple and you know it. People will always be after me, and they will always want you,” replied Natasha sadly. 

“We haven’t been found yet.”

“Wanda, will never agree,” objected Natasha. 

“Wanda doesn’t get a say until she is 18,” stated Steve firmly. “Or maybe even longer that that, if Tony’s amendments to the Accords are to be believed.”

Natasha grimaced, “So we were right then? They still fear Wanda’s power?”

Steve nodded, “But Tony knows that Wanda is a non-negotiable point.”

“It doesn’t mean they won’t go back on it. Can we really trust Ross?”

“We need to trust Tony,” replied Steve. 

…………………………………………………………………………………….

Wanda was laughing loudly as they walked back into the house, shoving Peter playfully. “We are home,” she yelled through the house. Wanda took her coat off and discarded it on the floor, only for Peter to pick it up and hang it on the hook in the hallway. Natasha watched from the kitchen doorway in amusement. 

“Peter, stop picking up after her lazy ass,” expressed Natasha with a smile. Peter removed his own hat and shrugged, “It’s easier than telling her.”

Natasha just arched an eyebrow at her blushing daughter, “Hmm…”

Wanda just walked over and relaxed into the older woman’s arms. She placed a kiss to her forehead, and smoothed her hair down. It was sticking up everywhere as a consequence of wearing a hat. 

“Did you have fun?”

Wanda nodded, but just pushed her face into Natasha’s neck and inhaled. She wasn’t sure what perfume the spy wore, but the scent was always comforting. 

“Dinner is nearly ready, but we need to have a chat before we eat,” explained Natasha. Wanda stiffened in her arms, ‘What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong Wanda,” replied Natasha, “just come into the kitchen.” she beckoned her hand up and gestured to Peter to follow as well. Steve was just putting the potatoes into the oven, before turning to take a seat opposite the the kids. 

Wanda looked at the pair wearily, “What’s going on?”

Peter looked equally nervously at the adults. Steve took a deep breath to speak but Natasha beat him to it. 

“Tony called today,” she rushed out. The words were left hanging in the room, as the adults waited for the kids to react. 

Wanda slumped into her chair while Peter sat up excitedly, “Yeah, what did he say? Are we going home? Can I talk to him? Can I talk to Aunt May?”

Wanda just shrunk further into the chair at each one of Peter’s questions. Steve coughed and interrupted Peter’s rambling, “We think we have come to an agreement about the accords.”

Wanda rolled her eyes at him, “yeah and I’m the pope.”

“Wanda,” rebuked Natasha.

“What? Do you really think we can trust them? You broke me out of prison in case you forgot. They are just going to let that go…”

Peter’s face fell as he too slumped into his seat in disappointment, as Wanda’s words washed over him. 

“We have agreed terms,” replied Natasha, “Steve is going to New York to meet with Ross and Tony to go over it all.”

Wanda snorted, “That sounds like a trap. We all go or no-one goes.”

“That's not you decision,” stated Steve firmly. “We have discussed this, and Nat is going to stay here with you two.”

Wanda stood up in annoyance shaking her head, “No.”

Natasha went to speak but Wanda interrupted her immediately, “No I am right on this. You can not trust them.”

“Wanda sit down,” said Natasha firmly, “and listen.”

Wanda lowered herself back into her seat, maintaining eye contact the whole time, and then shrugged petulantly at the older woman to continue. Natasha narrowed her eyes in annoyance but wanted to pick her battles. 

“We have compromised with them, we have been having discussions for a long time. The world is better with the Avenger in it. We all know that.”

“So what they have just said, let’s just forget about all this shit,” Wanda sarcastically commented.   
“Young Lady, stop interrupting your mother,” intervened Steve getting annoyed by Wanda’s attitude. 

“Well you are both being Naive! Ross can not be trusted. You would see that if you were both thinking clearly,” shouted Wanda. 

“Wanda calm down, and listen to the terms first,” explained Steve calmly.

“Fine,” replied Wanda in anger, as she crossed her arms tighter towards her chest.

“Could you at least pretend to be receptive?” muttered Natasha. Wanda exhaled but sat up more in the seat.

“We have agreed to keep the Avengers independent from all states, but we will have monthly meetings with the UN. We will operate by committee, with all full members getting a vote in our activities. Tony will continue to privately fund us, so we not be a cost or burden to any single State, despite being predominantly based in the US. We have agreed to take responsibility for any damage we cause, though with an understanding that collateral damage may be unavoidable at times,” stated Steve. 

“We have all been granted Pardons, and we will no longer be fugitives,” stated Natasha. Peter smiled at that, and perked up, “So we can go home? Will we be home before Christmas?”

“There is the bait… Where is the hook?” commented Wanda, with a vacant expression on her face. “What did you two agree to, to get all that?”

Natasha sighed, “The sticking point was you Wanda.”

Wanda felt the colour drain from her face, “What do you mean? Am I going back to the raft….”

Natasha quickly stood up and walked around the table and pulled Wanda out of her chair, before sitting down herself cradling the teenager in her lap, “that is never going to happen Wanda. It just means they fear your power. So we had to make some concessions on your behalf.”

“Like what?” asked Wanda weakly. 

“You will remain under my guardianship for the foreseeable future,” explained Natasha gently. 

“Foreseeable future?” Queried Wanda in confusion. Steve spoke up in that moment from across the table, “Till you are at least 21 Natasha and I will be held responsible for your actions.”

“So what at 21 I get shipped off to the raft?” snapped Wanda. 

“We already told you that won’t happen. They just think and to be honest so do we that you may need additional guidance,” replied Natasha. 

Wanda tried to get up out of Natasha’s lap, “this is bullshit!”

“Shut up Wanda,” spat out Peter, ‘Do you ever understand what they have done for you? If you break the law they go to prison do you even get that?”

“What?” replied a shocked Wanda. “Stop lying Peter! They would never agree to that.”

Wanda turned abruptly and looked into the faces of two adults. She realised Peter was telling the truth. 

“but why? Why would you agree to that?” whispered Wanda. She tugged on the bottom of Natasha’s T-shirt , and wrapped it around her fingers. 

“One day, you are going to stop being surprised by what I will do for you,” whispered Natasha back, as she tenderly tucked a lock of Wanda’s hair behind her ear. 

“I still don’t trust this,” stated Wanda. “I think we should all go.”

Steve shook his head from across the table, “You don’t get a say Wanda. Your Mama and I made the decision, and that is that.”

Wanda turned in annoyance, “Peter and I are Avengers we should get a say.”

“No, you are minors,” said Natasha. “So you don’t get a say yet.”

“You keep saying we are a family! We should make decisions as a family,” Wanda retorted back. 

“You can have a say in what we have a dinner, you don’t get a say in life changing decisions,” replied Natasha firmly. 

“Wait, does this mean I won’t get to make decisions until I’m 21?!”

Steve looked awkwardly towards Natasha who finally sighed before stating, “that is correct.”

“I’m never having sex again am I?” deadpanned Wanda, as Steve blushed uncomfortably across from her. 

“Stop winding up your Dad Wanda,” said Natasha with a roll of her eyes, “you know he is a dinosaur.”

Peter spoke up from his seat at the table, “So when do we go home?”

Steve straightened back up, “well if it all goes well, we will all be with Clint and Laura on Christmas Eve. That’s where we were all going to go for Christmas.”

“Not the compound?” Questioned Wanda, “surely there is more room there?”

“Not for now it’s nicer to be in a home,” Steve directed that answer to Wanda before turning to face Peter, “Your aunt May, Tony and Pepper will be joining us there don’t worry.”

“Can I talk to Aunt May tonight?” asked Peter quietly.

“Not tonight buddy, but soon I promise.”

………………………………………………………………………

Peter waited until Steve had said his goodbyes and he could hear the soft sounds of snoring permeating the house. He quickly opened his bedroom window, and jumped out into the night. The cold air comforted him better than any hug could. He swung from one building to another before resting on the nearby lamppost to catch his breath.

The sound of a scream interrupted his serene thoughts. He speedily took off towards the noise. He quickly located the victim who was backed into an alleyway by a gang of kids. Well Peter thought they were kids before realising they were probably older than him. He released some webbing sending one of them flying into the wall. This made the others turn to face him in shock.

“Leave that kid alone,” stated Peter firmly, trying to mask his American accent. 

“Who the fuck are you?”

“I’m…” Peter paused for a moment as he realised he couldn’t use his actual alias. “I’m the night monkey.”

One of the boys started laughing, “that’s what you are going with Bruv?? Fuck me.”

Peter stiffened but stood up taller, “I won’t ask again.”

Another one of the party twirled a bat around his hand, “Do you really think you are going to stop us? Go play dress up at home.”

Peter threw out his hand and webbed the bat our of his hand and flung it across the alleyway. “You are going to regret that.”

“I doubt that,” replied Peter. He smiled underneath his mask, the adrenaline rush this gave him was like nothing else. 

Peter brushed himself down casually as he took in the downed bullies and approached the kid at the end of the alleyway, “you ok buddy?”

The kid scowled at him, “I had it covered.”

Peter looked back at him incredulously, ”really?”

The kid reacted quickly and took Peter by complete surprise, he jumped back as he saw the glint of silver but it was too late as the metal collided with his arm ripping through the fabric and cutting into his flesh. He grimaced and flipped backwards hissing. 

“Are you kidding me?” yelled Peter, as the kid quickly ran away down the alleyway. He looked back to his arm and saw the blood pouring and dripping down onto the floor. 

“That’s not good…”


	36. Mutual understanding

Wanda felt the buzzing by her ear. Surely it could not be morning already, it just couldn’t. She pushed herself up onto her arms and looked dazed at her phone surprised to see Parker flashing on the screen. She picked up the device and pressed it to her ear, “Why are you calling me at 2am from next door?” 

As Wanda listened to the panicked teenage boy she found herself waking up instantly. “Where are you Pete?” She swung her legs over the bed and quickly grabbed some pants off her bedroom floor. 

“I’m coming to get you, stay where you are. It will be ok I promise,” Wanda quickly jumped out of her own bedroom window using her powers to land on the ground. She quickly took off into the night. Unaware the second she had left the room Natasha was alerted. 

Natasha woke up to the alarm going off in her ear. Natasha quickly got up and wrapped a dressing gown around her body, she rushed down the hallway to Wanda’s room. Natasha sent the door flying open and quickly scanned the room, noticing the teenager’s absence immediately and the wide open window. 

…………………………………………………….

“Holy shit Pete,” exclaimed Wanda, as she found him leaning against the wall clearly in some pain. She rushed over to him and grabbed him by his good shoulder taking the weight of his body. Wanda pulled the balaclava off his face, and took in his sweaty pale face. 

“You have lost a lot of blood Peter,” worried Wanda. She took her cardigan off and wrapped it firmly around his arm in order to halt the bleeding. 

“It will be fine, once it stops bleeding,” whimpered Peter, “I have fast healing.”

Wanda snapped at him, “Are you kidding me? You are a state. We need help…”

She manoeuvred Peter in her arms, and reached into his pocket and retrieved his phone. Wanda flicked through his contacts before halting on Natasha’s name. She dialled the number.

………………………………………………..

Peter lay asleep on the sofa. Natasha finished bandaging up his wound. Wanda stood off to the side her clothes still covered in his blood. 

Natasha’s face was pulled tightly into a grimace as she turned to look back at her child. “What in the world where you thinking?”

“Peter was in trouble, what else what I was supposed to do?” argued Wanda in annoyance. 

“You should have come to me straight away, not left in the middle of the night.”

“I called you didn’t I,” stated Wanda. 

“Not the point Wanda, you just left do you have any idea how worried I was before you called.”

Wanda glared at the older woman, “How did you know?”

“How did we know what?” mirrored back Natasha. 

“How did you know I had left? But you clearly didn’t know Peter had left…” questioned Wanda her tone deadly.

“Why does that matter?” replied Natasha firmly.  
“It matters,” replied Wanda in anger. 

Natasha sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, “Let’s just put pause on this, it’s late, we are all tired, and we have a lot to discuss in the morning.”

Wanda narrowed her eyes but left the room, and retired to the bedroom. 

……………………

It was a tense house the next morning as they all sat around the table. Natasha had called the kids in sick to school, realising that they all needed to stay home today. 

Peter was avoiding eye contact with everyone. They all just sat there waiting for someone else to talk. 

“How are you feeling Peter?” asked Natasha softly but the undercurrent of anger was noticeable to everyone at the table. 

“I’m ok,” whispered Peter. 

“Good, I just needed to check you were ok before I kick your teenage miscreant ass,” said Natasha firmly. 

Peter visibility cringed, “I’m sorry Aunty Nat…I was just trying to be helpful….”

“Do not finish that sentence,” exclaimed Natasha angrily. “You weren’t doing this to help others. You were being incredibly selfish and stupid. What if you have been killed last night? What if that knife had hit you somewhere vital? Why didn’t you call us the second you were hurt?”

“I called Wanda,” was the weak response. Natasha was starting to lose control.

“Peter, we just don’t understand it. You know we have to stay incognito and you dressing in all black and swinging around a major city does not do that. Tony and Pepper are working to resolve the accords and you go and do that??”

Wanda snapped “Stop trying to guilt him! That’s not helping anything.”

Natasha turned in a rage to the teenager, “You stay out of this, I will get to you shortly, little girl.”

“Peter you understand you are in serious trouble?” asked Natasha continuing to speak. 

“I am sorry…”

Natasha softened slightly, “We know Peter but we need you to think before you act my little spider.” She finished with a term of endearment knowing the teenager needed that reassurance in that moment. 

Wanda huffed from her seat, “Right can I go now?”

“No, You are grounded Wanda.”

“Why am I grounded?” asked Wanda the rage was almost visible as the red tendrils of her powers lashed the air around her. “I saved him! You should be thanking me!”

“You still left the house without permission, you know the rules,” explained Natasha realising she needing to defuse some of the obvious tension. 

“How did you know I left but you didn’t know Peter left?” asked Wanda bitterly. 

Natasha spoke up, “I have your room monitored.”

“Why? Do you trust me that little? Am I not entitled to my privacy Natasha?”

“We give you privacy, we aren’t spying on you Wanda. It just alerts us if someone enters or leaves your room,” replied Natasha honestly.

“And you think that’s ok?? You are insane,” spouted Wanda, her anger was controlling her every word. 

“This is no better than the raft,” spat out Wanda in a rage. “I am not your prisoner, Natasha.”

“I am not Natasha to you,” replied Nat keeping her voice deadly calm, “I am your Mama, and you will address me as such. You will not yell at me in this way Wanda. This is your first warning.”

“I will call you as I see you Agent Romanoff,” spat out Wanda. 

“Second warning,” stated Natasha not taking her eyes off the younger girl, “Don’t talk yourself into trouble Wanda.”

“We are proud that you recognised you needed help when you got to Peter, but you should have thought of that before you left,” continued Natasha. 

“So what happens now?” asked Peter awkwardly. 

“You are going to be punished Peter, but you get an option, I can do it or you can wait until Steve is back?” said Natasha earnestly. 

Wanda rolled her eyes, “Yeah, let him pick his own executioner, super nice of you.”

“That’s it Wanda, you have pushed and pushed. I am tired of your disrespectful behaviour and attitude. You weren’t even in major trouble but your mouth has done that for you,” said Natasha her voice was trembling as her anger exuded her every pore. “You are to go upstairs and wait in my bedroom. Your nose better be in the corner.”

Wanda looked at her and crossed her arms against her chest before leaning back in the chair almost nonchalantly. “No thank you, I’m quite alright here.”

“It wasn’t a suggestion,” snapped Natasha in disbelief. “You are digging a big hole young lady. I’m going to count to three, and you better get your naughty backside up those stairs.”

Wanda blushed at being described at ‘naughty.’

“One,” intoned Natasha firmly. Wanda just tutted and turned her head away from the older woman. “Two Wanda,” she continued. 

At this point Wanda glanced back and observed Natasha’s stiff posture and unwavering expression, a modicum of doubt started to enter her mind.

“Don’t let me get to three Wanda, I mean it,” stated Natasha. Wanda paused for a moment, seeing the threat clear in the older woman’s eyes. She groaned but stood up and stomped off upstairs, slamming doors behind her. 

“You are terrifying Aunty Nat,” said Peter more to the room than to a particular person. 

Natasha exhaled loudly, “What’s your choice Peter?”

Peter paled at the question, “I mean I don’t know….”

“Who would you feel more comfortable with?” asked Natasha with a more gentle tone realising it wasn’t his fault that she was so angry. 

“You, but not you right now,” was the honest reply from Peter. That response was enough to snap Natasha out of it. 

“I’m sorry Peter, we don’t need to do it now. Why don’t you go back to sleep for a bit? Do I need to check your arm?”

Natasha stroked the boy’s good arm in comfort, and Peter leaned into the contact. “I won’t leave it hanging over your head Peter, but go take a quick nap and we will resolve this after lunch.”

“ok Aunty Nat,” replied Peter mournfully, “I really am sorry.”

“I know you are buddy.”

…………………………………………..

Natasha slowly walked up the stairs, she pushed open her bedroom door, and was reassured to see Wanda standing the corner as requested. 

“Have you calmed down now Wands?”

Wanda huffed slightly in the corner, but turned around to face Natasha, who had her arms crossed sternly against her chest. 

Wanda sighed, “You treat me like a child.”

Natasha rolled her eyes, “you are a child. I know you are stressed out about Steve being gone, which is why we had all those dramatics downstairs.” 

Wanda shook her head in denial. 

“Yes,” replied Natasha. “You also know it was wrong to rush out of here last night. If you were an avenger, you know we wouldn’t do that. We would engage with the team before rushing into any situation.”

Wanda slumped slightly in response, and Natasha beckoned her towards her as she took a seat on her bed. Wanda approached gingerly and perched on the edge, trying to ensure she was just outside of grabbing range. Natasha laughed at her behaviour, before gesturing her to come closer. “Wanda come here.”

Wanda slowly inched closer to the older woman, Natasha giggled and pulled the teenager into her body, happy when the witch finally relaxed into her arms. 

“Feeling better?” asked Natasha in slight amusement. Wanda nodded in shock.

“Ok, now we need to talk….”

Wanda looked up at her in confusion. “You need to understand something Wanda. Fear is a powerful thing. People get consumed by it and they lose all grip on reality.”

“Okay,” responded Wanda, unsure where Natasha was going with this. 

“Agent Ross and men like him, are terrified of you. The only thing that gives him any reassurance is that you listen to Steve and I. He may want to test this in person. He may be awful, he might try and get you angry, upset you. Insult me or you. It is imperative you do not react, and If I say anything you listen to me immediately. Do you understand?”

“I think so,” said Wanda quietly. 

“Wanda I need you to understand this. I may need to be harsher in front of them, and I need you to agree with everything I say without argument. You know I will always listen to you later, but you have to just nod and agree in front of Ross.”

Wanda looked up at the older woman, “I understand.”

“What we can’t have is what happened down stairs Wanda. I will not hesitate to punish you in front of him. It’s not to humiliate you, but I will protect you at all costs, even from yourself.”

“No I do get it,” replied Wanda, as she rested her head on Natasha’s shoulder. 

The moment was interrupted by the phone ringing in Nat’s pocket, who answered it quickly. Wanda listened intently as Steve excitedly explained he was in his way with the Quinjet. 

………………….

Peter was sat next to Wanda in the back of the jet, with a smile on his face, as they soared over the water. 

Wanda turned to him abruptly, “Why are you so happy?”

Peter looked back at her in confusion, “What’s not to be happy about? We are going home, and I didn’t get in trouble.”

Wanda snorted at him, “You do realise Mama is still going to punish you when we land….”

Peter looked at her ashen faced, “No she won’t, I mean I won’t be her problem anymore.”

Wanda laughed, “Good luck with that argument.” She reclined back into her seat.   
Peter realised she was clearly distracted by something, so just stuck the air pods in his ears and zoned out listening to music.

………………………

Wanda couldn’t hide her smile as she saw Clint stood outside waiting for them, she ran and wrapped him into a hug in relief. She had missed him more than she had even realised. Wanda inhaled deeply, before finally releasing him and then jumped into Laura who was stood next to him.

“I missed you,” she whispered softly. Though both adults heard her. Wanda released her grip and stepped back allowing Natasha to approach and take her place. She hugged Laura tightly. 

Peter approached them, “where is Mr Stark?”

“On their way,” replied Clint. Natasha stepped away from Laura’s embrace and rested a hand on Peter’s shoulder.

“Come on Peter, we have something to take care off.”

Peter’s face fell, “but Aunty Nat…”

“Come on Peter,” replied Natasha. Laura wrapped an arm around Wanda, “Yeah come on, I have your favourite hot chocolate warming on the stove.”

Steve stood off to the side watching with a smile as his family entered the farmhouse.


	37. Sartorial Greetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not dead.... I have had a rather difficult period in the last 2 months. I will try and get back on track after my rather enforced sabbatical. I mean as long as people are still interested in reading this. 
> 
> I will try and go back to weekly updates, and input is greatly appreciated and thank you for your patience.

Wanda sat sipping her hot chocolate in contentment. She glanced over and smiled at Laura bustled around the kitchen, preparing what looked like a dinner to feed an army. 

“Do you need any help?” questioned Wanda, feeling guilty that she was just sitting there. 

“No, I’m fine Wanda, why don’t you go see your uncle? I’m sure he is dying to show you his new bow,” replied Laura, though she was grateful of the offer of assistance. Laura was a control freak who believed too many cooks was a bad thing. She was also aware she would be unable to prevent the other women from helping; both Pepper and Natasha were stubborn fools in their own special ways. 

Wanda nodded, before placing her empty mug into the sink. She ventured outside into the cold air. Wanda stepped out her bare feet crunching against the frosty grass. She hated wearing shoes even in the cold. She turned to look up when she felt something small and hard collide with her in the head. Wanda winced and grimaced in an annoyance as she rubbed the offending spot. She threw her head back and spied her uncle in the tree, “What was that for?”

Clint laughed, “For not wearing shoes outside.”

Wanda retorted, “This is child abuse you know, throwing things at your niece.”

“You admitting you are a child now?” replied Clint in amusement. Wanda just cocked an eyebrow at him. 

“You are going to catch a cold though, you need to get your feet out of the cold,” continued Clint. Wanda smirked at his wording, and lowered her hands as she concentrated slightly. Clint jumped down from the trees and laughed at the now levitating teenager. 

“Not quite what I had in mind Wanda,” smirked Clint. 

“Hey, I did what you said!”

……………………

Natasha smiled as she watched them from the bedroom window, before finally turning to face the teenager boy who was stood in the corner. 

“Is this really necessary Aunty Nat?”

“Probably not,” replied Natasha with her trademark sass. 

Peter groaned, and then turned to face her. Natasha approached the boy and pulled him into a hug, “You can change your mind Peter. We are back in America now, if you want I can explain what happened to Tony and your Aunt May, and they can discipline you.”

Peter cringed when he heard the word discipline, his body reacting in a way he couldn’t control. “If you deal with it, will you tell them?”

Natasha shook her head slowly, “No what happened in London stayed in London.”

“I am sorry Aunty Nat, but thanks for you know… Looking after …. um… me..” Peter finished the sentence trailing off awkwardly. Natasha smiled warmly at the inelegant teenager. 

“You are welcome Peter. I will always look out for you,” she pulled the teenager towards and kissed his forehead. Peter rubbed the spot, “Aunty Nat, you are so embarrassing!”

“There is no-one else here,” laughed Natasha. 

“Not the point,” replied Peter. Natasha’s smile dropped as she realised they needed to get this over with, “Do you understand what you did wrong?”

Peter’s face also dropped uncomfortably, “Yeah I do.”  
“You are a good kid Pete. You just made the wrong decision, and you need to think next time before you act. Hopefully this well help remind you of that fact.”

“Will it be weird now?” asked Peter curiously. 

“In what way Pete?” asked Natasha in confusion. 

“I mean for the last few months we have been a family. I mean I’ve missed Aunt May and Tony but I don’t want to lose you….”

Natasha placed a hand on his cheek firmly and caressed his face lightly, “I will always be here for you. I mean at least now I get to be your fun aunt again.”

Peter snorted in amusement, “I’m not sure you were ever fun Aunty Nat.”

“I resent that,” Joked Natasha. The pair laughed briefly before the tension returned in the air, “Let’s get this done Pete.”  
……………………………………………………………………..

Wanda sat on the sofa cuddling into Steve’s side, she was watching the fire lick and burn against the log that sat in the fireplace. Wanda looked up and gazed at the stockings that hung by the chimney. Her eyes moved across the room to the tree in the corner. It was beautifully and tastefully decorated. The whole room looked like it should be on a Christmas card. Wanda wasn’t surprised by this. She didn’t expect anything less from Laura Barton than a perfect American Christmas. 

“Mulled wine?” Questioned Laura from the doorway. Wanda sat up in response, “yes please.”

Laura looked at Steve, “Steve do you want some?”

“Yes please,” replied Steve. Natasha perked up from her position on the sofa, careful not to jostle the awake but clearly comfortable Peter who was resting his head on her shoulder. 

“I’ll have one to please Laura,” stated Natasha. Laura looked over to Natasha, “Yeah of course, What about?” Laura flicked her head in the direction of Wanda. Natasha nodded in response, “yeah just a small one, Peter would you like any?”

Peter nodded happily. “Make that two small ones.”

Wanda relaxed back onto the sofa after realising her request was being granted. Steve smiled at petulant teenager before turning to Natasha, “Nat, Isn’t it time?”

Natasha gently eased Peter away from her body, and went to stand up, “Yes it is.”

“What time is it?” asked Wanda with an eyebrow raise. Natasha clapped her hands together before heading towards the Christmas tree. She retrieved two small boxes from the under the tree before handing one to each kid. 

Peter looked up at her perplexed, “It’s Christmas eve. Aren’t presents for tomorrow?”

“It’s something we like to do, open one present on Christmas Eve. It’s only something small,” explained Natasha. 

Wanda handled the box gingerly, It was perfectly wrapped with a bow. It almost looked too perfect to open. It made her think about her own poorly wrapped gifts she had stuffed haphazardly into her bag. Wanda felt guilty about her own lack of care and attention. Steve wrapped an arm around the teenager, “Come on Wanda open it!”

Wanda glanced over to Peter, and saw that he had already excitedly tore away at the wrapping paper and was undoing the white box. She turned back to her own present and carefully pulled the bow to untie it. Wanda smoothed the corner of the box, as she searched for an edge that wasn’t taped in order to carefully unravel the wrapping paper. 

Peter was already hugging Natasha in gratitude for his present, while loudly exclaiming and then rushing out of the room to show others. Nat looked over at Wanda in concern, “You ok Wands?”

Natasha slowly approached the teenager and perched on the arm of the sofa. Wanda shook her head in order to return to reality, “Yeah… I’m fine… It’s just all a bit…

“Overwhelming,” finished Natasha succinctly. Wanda now held the white box in her hand, as she slowly open it to reveal a necklace with two small charms attached to it, the black widow symbol and the captain America shield. She silently stared at the bus, her finger gently caressing the metal.

“I hope you don’t find it too possessive,” said Steve interrupting the silence nervously. Wanda turned to face him, “No…. I love it…”

She turned and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek, “Thank you..”Wanda with her other hand grabbed Natasha’s arm, she followed the movement and wrapped an arm around the teenager. The moment was broken by the snap of a photo being taken, “Sorry I had to capture that moment,” stated the cocky voice from the doorway. 

Steve stood up and outstretched a hand, “Stark nice to see you.”

Tony smiled and took his sunglasses off and tucked them into his front pocket on his jacket. He took the outstretched hand and shook it, “Cap, good to see you too.”

He turned to the other two occupants to acknowledge, “Sabrina, and Mama Spider, Laura says the wine is ready in the kitchen.”

“Thanks for letting us know Stark,” replied Wanda stiffly, and Tony’s face fell in disappointment. Natasha sighed quietly before turning to Steve, “You go ahead we will join in a second.”

Steve exited the room with Tony, already requesting a copy of that photo he had taken with his glasses. Natasha took the necklace out of the box, and carefully draped it around Wanda’s neck, “there you go.”

Natasha looked at Wanda as she tried to figure out how to begin this conversation. “Wanda…”

“I know what you are going to say,” replied Wanda quickly.

Natasha grimaced slightly at the teenager, “Wands, can you please play nice with Stark. It’s Christmas, we are all together.”

Wanda shook her head vehemently, “He stays away from me, everything will be fine.”

Natasha softly rubbed Wanda’s arm, “Wanda, you know this wasn’t all Tony’s fault…”

Wanda snapped back, “It was all his fault. He threw me away the second he could and had me locked up.”

“Wanda,” replied Natasha calmly, “It was complicated, you know Tony adores you.”

Wanda glared back at her, “I know there are things you aren’t telling me. I know something happened in Siberia. For some reason you won’t ever tell me anything, yet you expect me to just blindly trust you. I’m supposed to just forgive and forget? I forgave him for his weapons destroying my family, my life and my city. How many more chances should that man child get?”

“Sweetheart, calm down. Let’s talk about this later, but for now just remember he is an adult here. So you do have to be polite. Do you understand me?”

…………………………………………

Laura smiled around the table as she lifted her glass up in salutation, “It’s wonderful to all finally be back together.”

Steve stood up from the armchair, “Thank you for hosting us all.”

“It’s ok,” joked Natasha from her seat, “Laura loves taking in strays and waifs.”

“Tasha,” warned Laura with an eyebrow raise. Wanda watched in amusement as Natasha blushed under the glare. Tony coughed clearing his throat, “So how exactly did you all meet our favourite Russian Spy? I mean i’ve heard them make several references to Budapest.”

“That’s none of your business Stark,” snapped Natasha. 

“Natalia!” What followed was unintelligible to the majority of the room, as Laura quickly spoke in Russian. Wanda couldn’t help but laugh out loud. 

Steve turned to her, “What did she say?”  
Wanda just shook her head, and raised her hands in mock surrender. “I’m not getting involved.”

Laura turned to Tony, “Clint was actually sent to “remove” the threat.” She did false quotes marks with her hands as she explained the word remove. Laura then continued to speak, “The threat being Natasha, now Clint thought he was being sent after an experienced deadly KGB operative.”

Natasha sat up in her seat, “What do you mean thought? I was an experienced deadly KGB operative.” 

Laura rolled her eyes playfully, but Natasha continued, “I was very good at my job Laura.”

Clint scoffed, “I know you were, I still have the scars to prove it.”

Natasha looked at him in mock annoyance, “you still moaning about that? I missed all your vital organs.”

“Doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt,” said Clint in response. Steve turned to Laura in amusement, “So they are like this all the time?”

“All the time,” replied Laura. “They are like bickering siblings.” Natasha and Clint were still discussing it oblivious to Steve and Laura’s conversation. 

“If you hadn’t shot the arrow at me, I wouldn’t have been able to use it to stab you in the side…”

“Enough,” said Laura firmly. The room was surprised when Natasha immediately acquiesced to the request. 

“Anyway as I was saying. Natasha wanted out of the KGB, Clint offered her a role at shield. Everything was agreed in principle,” stated Laura.

Natasha put her glass of mulled wine down on the coffee table, “And then Clint had to shock the world by actually doing some Maths for once in his life.”

“What Natasha means is that Clint realised that this experienced KGB operative was actually 17, and legally too young to join Shield.”

“I was still better than all the agents put together, I was better at 12.”

“Be that as it may, Clint agreed for her to stay with us until she was of age to join shield,” responded Laura, ignoring Natasha’s proud snark. 

Tony looked at Laura in shock, “She is barely trained now, how did you deal with the puppy version of Romanoff?”

“Bite me Stark,” replied Natasha. Laura walked around and sat on the arm of the chair and wrapped an arm around Natasha’s shoulder pulling her closer to her. The room was surprised when Natasha just melted into the hold and rested her head on her shoulder. 

“She didn’t need training Tony. I just got the kid sister I always wanted.”

Wanda snorted from her seat, “Mama told me before she was a nightmare as a teenager…”

Natasha looked at Laura with a cheeky smile, “I was just challenging right Laur?”

Laura wrinkled her nose slightly, “yeah let’s go with challenging…”

“That sounds like a story right there,” asked Tony.

“Maybe for another night,” replied Laura quickly. There were things that were private as far as she was concerned. “Anyway we all need an early night. As I warn you all our kids will be up at the crack of dawn….”

Tony groaned, “how early is early? I’m not a morning person. I’m more of an all night person.”

“It’s Christmas morning if it’s after 5am be grateful,” explained Clint with a shudder. The adults shared a knowing look.

………………………………………

Christmas and New Year had passed as a blur, it was almost as if she had blinked and weeks had passed in seconds, and now Wanda was stood nervously in front of the mirror as she adjusted the bottom of her dress. She groaned and glanced back to Natasha, “Do I really have to wear this?”

Natasha ran the brush through Wanda’s hair from behind. “I know it’s not really your style Wanda, but we need you to appear as demure and non-threatening as possible.”

“I know,” moaned Wanda, “doesn’t mean I have to like it.” 

“I’m so proud of you sweetheart,” replied Natasha warmly. Wanda smiled back at her, “I still don’t see why you get to wear pants.”

Natasha laughed in response, “Come on Wands we are going to be late..”

Natasha led Wanda through into the boardroom, and indicated to her to grab a seat next to Steve who was already glaring across the table at Ross. Wanda nervously lowered herself into her seat unconsciously reaching her hand out to Steve’s who grasped it in return. 

“Nice to see you again Wanda, I’m sure you prefer your current sartorial arrangement,” Spoke Ross the arrogance of his tone grated on Wanda. Her free hand gripped the armchair in anger. Natasha laid a calming hand onto the tense arm and used a thumb to rub some of the tension away. 

“That was entirely unnecessary Mr Ross,” responded Natasha with a clipped tone, not appreciating the reference to Wanda’s time at the raft. 

“That is Senator Ross to you,” he replied with equal snark. “Do not forget your place Miss Romanoff, if you weren’t spreading your legs for Stark, and Captain America you would not even be at this table.”

Natasha just smirked at him, “is that the best you got?”

Steve coughed awkwardly, “I believe we are here to discuss the imminent press conference, not to bicker like children.”

Ross reclined back in his chair, “Yes the conference. You know the drill Rogers, just like your press tours during World War Two. You smile, wave and show everyone what a good boy you are.” 

Steve just raised an eyebrow at him, ‘Of course Sir.”

Ross sat up, “I’m not messing around with this Rogers. Remember our agreement, and to keep your women in check.”

Wanda went to stand up, but was quickly held in place by the two adults she was sat between. 

“Are you sure you have control of that witch?” asked Ross in agitation. His calm and cocky demeanour had dissipated as he was being illuminated by the shade of red emanating from the teenager. 

“Wanda,” rebuked Natasha firmly, she tapped her thigh lightly with her free hand. Wanda turned to glare at the older woman, but then saw the look in Natasha’s eyes. The witch lowered her eyes to the ground, and let the red glow fade away. 

Ross waited until the red had all gone before he spoke again. “I still think she needs a shock collar.”

“Are we done here Senator Ross?” questioned Natasha knowing there was no appropriate way to respond to that statement. 

“We are for now,” he responded his rocky bravado back in a place. “You better make sure she is on her best behaviour at the conference.”


	38. Paparazzo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit longer than a week so apologies.. Thank you so much for the wonderful comments. It is truly humbling so many people are reading this. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think.

Wanda rushed off into the room before angrily throwing herself onto the bed. She ripped her pumps off her feet and flung them maliciously into the wall. 

“Wanda,” stated Natasha firmly with a look of disappointment. 

“What?!” replied Wanda incandescent with rage, “How can you be so calm? That guy is a c**t.”

Steve visibly cringed at the word, and Natasha just shook her head.

“Wanda I won’t warn you again, take a deep breath and calm down. You know he is just trying to get under your skin, don’t give him that power.”

“Of course he has that power,” yelled Wanda in frustration, “If he clicks his fingers I’m back on the godforsaken raft with a collar on like a dog.”

Natasha grabbed Wanda’s arm and pulled her into her body, “that will never happen Wanda. It would be over my dead body. You hear me?”

Wanda rested her head on Natasha’s shoulder, her face resting into the crook of her neck. She rubbed her back reassuringly. Wanda took some deep breaths against Natasha’s neck, the smell of her perfume acting as a sedative. She pulled away reluctantly. 

Steve walked over and placed a hand tentatively on her back, “Don’t let him affect you. You are stronger than that. You know you are.”

“You say that,” whimpered Wanda slightly, “But he’s the one laughing in his ivory tower, and I’m the little girl in a dress crying on her parents.”

Natasha just smiled at her, “now you are just being silly, why don’t we go get some food? I’ve heard there is this great Bulgarian place around the corner.”

Wanda nodded with a weak smile, “Sounds good, but can I get changed out of this ridiculous dress first?”

Steve looked at her, “how about we compromise you wear the dress with your Doc Marten Boots?”

Wanda smirked at him, “deal.” She bounced into him playfully, and Steve wrapped his arm around her shoulder keeping her close to him. While Natasha placed kisses to her face playfully. “Mama, stop that,” she giggled in faux annoyance. 

A knock on the door caused the playful banter to halt. Wanda stood straight up and glared at the direction of the noise. Tony stood awkwardly in the door, “I heard a Bulgarian may be on the cards fancy a fourth wheel?”

Wanda’s face hardened in response to the question though before she could speak Steve interrupted, “of course Tony we would love the company.” 

Tony looked over at sadly at the teenager, “it’s ok I wouldn’t want to impose.” Natasha frowned at the demure tone coming from the usually confident arrogant billionaire. “We insist Stark, why don’t we see if Pepper and Peter want to come too? Make it into a big family outing.” She made sure to emphasis the world family in the statement gripping Wanda’s arm slightly tighter as further confirmation of the fact. 

Wanda just rolled her eyes in response. Natasha just turned to Steve, “why don’t you go bring the car around and rally the troops with Tony? Wanda and I will follow.” 

Once the room was empty, Natasha turned to Wanda in annoyance, “this passive aggressive bullshit you have going on with Tony stops now.” 

Wanda crossed her arms in anger, “I didn’t say a word!”

“Your face speaks for you, and it stops. Steve and I will not put up with it anymore. It stops now,” replied Natasha. 

“You can’t dictate that I like someone!”

“He is your uncle , who spoils and loves you,” shot back Natasha.

“He imprisoned me!” Shouted Wanda. 

Natasha took a second to take in the sight before her, the upset teenager breathing heavily in her rage. 

“I think you need to speak to someone about the raft and how it has affected you,” stated Natasha gently. 

Wanda scoffed loudly, “great so now you think I’m mental.”

“Don’t put words in my mouth! You always assume the worst,” Natasha said trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. “You need to be polite and treat Tony like the family he is. We will not tolerate your disrespect any longer. Do you hear me?”

“I’m not hard of hearing,” cut back Wanda sarcastically who immediately realised her mistake as Natasha’s eyes narrowed dangerously. 

“Oh I’m sorry Wanda I didn’t realise you wanted a session over my knee.”

Wanda paled and instantly backtracked, “No I’m sorry mama , I don’t want that.”

“That’s what I thought,” Natashas voice then softened towards the teenager, “ I get that you are still angry sweetheart. But it’s not good to hold onto this rage, you are only hurting yourself with it.”

Wanda shook her head, “you don’t get it.”

Natasha responded by cupping her cheek lightly and caressing it with her thumb, “then why don’t you try and explain it to me?”

Wanda shook her head some more, tearing her face away from the comforting gesture, “come on they will be waiting for us.”

Natasha sighed but followed the retreating teenager out of the door. 

............

“How is everyone’s food?” asked Steve trying to break the awkward silence around the dinner table in the middle of the bustling restaurant. Peter poked a mushroom aimlessly around his plate, “It’s a bit foreign.”

He scrunched up his nose as consumed another vegetable. Pepper laughed in good nature at the teenagers “you can’t have pizza and fries for every meal.”

“I can try,” he joked back. Steve smiled as his question had the desired effect of breaking the awkward tension. The banter slowly continued around the table, though Natasha noticed that Wanda was keeping her nose buried in her food. She had barely lifted her head. Wanda only brought her chin up when she needed to take a sip from the glass of water to the side of her plate. Natasha kept glancing at her from the corner of her eye, but deciding now was not the time to bring attention to her behaviour while everyone else was seemingly happy and relaxed.

Steve sliced into his beef when he felt a little tug on his sleeve. He turned to face the teenager sat next to him. “You ok Wanda?”

Wanda nodded, “Can we go visit Uncle James soon?” 

Though Wanda had said it relatively quietly the whole table seemed to hear the request. Pepper turned somewhat aggressively to Natasha. “Uncle James?? Do you really thing that is appropriate? Surely you aren’t letting him near her.”

Natasha did not take kindly to the public rebuke, “I let Wanda decide what she wants to call people. If she wants to call him Uncle she can.”

Wanda looked nervously between the warring adults. “Why shouldn’t I call him Uncle James? Is it because he prefers Bucky?”

Steve sighed at the innocence in her voice, starting to feel slight regret that they had not divulged the full history to her. 

Wanda continued to speak, “I mean Dad said he was like a brother to him…”

Pepper just picked up her wine glass and shook her head disapprovingly. Wanda looked at her in confusion before glancing around the table, taking in the guilty expressions and the hurt face of Tony Stark. 

“What don’t I know?” she asked. Natasha rested a hand on her knee, “Nothing Malyshka, eat your dinner we can discuss visiting your Uncle James later.”

Wanda noticed Tony’s face grimace when the name was mentioned again. 

“No…. what’s going on? What’s Tony’s issue with Uncle James?” Wanda questioned again. 

Steve laid his hand on Wanda’s, “We can talk later at home Sweetheart.”

Wanda shrugged both adults off her body, “No tell me now. Is it because of Tony? Is that why he is still in Wakanda? Just because he doesn’t like him. Why is it always about Tony?”

Peter noticed how hurt Tony was by that outburst and couldn’t help himself, “Shut up Wanda. You don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Don’t tell me to shut up Pete,” snarked back Wanda. 

Pepper spoke up, “That’s enough both of you.”

Wanda rolled her eyes, “I wish James was here instead of you Tony.”

Tony’s face fell at the words and reacted as if he had been punched in the gut. 

“Wanda! Apologise this second,” snapped Natasha in anger. 

Peter stood up in a rage, “you are such a bitch. You think your Uncle James is so great. Why don’t you ask Steve what happened in Siberia? Why don’t you ask what your precious Uncle James did to Tony.”

Pepper snapped, “Peter that’s enough. Now is not the time for that.”

“What’s he talking about?” asked Wanda looking around the table. Her eyes halted on Tony, who was avoiding her gaze and just twirling his fork around his hand. 

“Tony..” she said, but he ignored her. 

“Tony..”

“Uncle Tony..” at those words his eyes shot up slightly. Wanda gazed at his face, and while there were no tears his eyes were bloodshot. 

“What happened?” asked Wanda nervously. Tony coughed, “Does anyone want dessert?”

He turned sadly to Wanda, “It’s not my place to tell you little witch, you need to ask Steve and Natasha.”  
“I’m getting tired of all these secrets,” snapped Wanda. “Stop treating me like a child.”

“Maybe if you didn’t act like a child, we wouldn’t treat you like one,” replied Pepper. “The way you have been treating your uncle is disgraceful.”

“Pepper,” reprimanded Tony lightly, “Don’t.”

At the same time Natasha spoke up, “If you have an issue with my kid’s behaviour talk to me about it. Do not air it in a public forum.”

Pepper took a deep breath, “You are right. I’m sorry Wanda. I’m just hurt. We love you but you barely tolerate being in a room with us.”

Wanda turned to Steve, “Tell me. Tell me what happened in Siberia?”

Steve looked over to Natasha, who shook her head in response. Wanda saw this and glared at her, “I didn’t ask you!”

Peter took the moment to interrupt, “You want to know?? You really want to know?”

And then before anyone could stop him it came out, “Your precious Uncle Bucky murdered Tony’s parents.”

The tension around the table was so thick you could have cut it with a knife, as no-one spoke. Wanda’s eye lit up wildly turning to face the other teenager, “You can’t make accusations like that!”

She turned to Steve, “Dad, tell him. Tell him!”

Steve looked shamefully down at his plate. As the realisation dawned on Wanda, “Steve, Tell me he is lying….”

Wanda took one more glance around the table before jumping up causing the chair to fall to the floor. The sound reverberated around the restaurant causing people to turn and stare at the table. 

Natasha stood up quickly to try and halt the teenager, but she was too late as Wanda stormed out the restaurant using her powers to lock the door behind her. 

“Peter,” chided Pepper. “That wasn’t your place to say.”

Steve went into his wallet and pulled out some bills and handed them to Tony across the table.

“That should cover us. I need to go and sort this out.”

Tony nodded, “We will meet you back at the hotel, before we get the jet back to New York.”

………………………………..  
Wanda strode angrily down the street, her boots thundered on the concrete, her hair whipping her shoulders. 

Natasha struggled to catch up having been delayed by the locked restaurant.  
“Wanda Stop.”

Wanda didn’t turn back, she just increased her pace. 

“Wanda!” shouted Natasha again. The teenager did halt when she was disorientated by the flash of a camera. 

“Witch! Witch, where are you going? Have you had a fight with the other avengers? Do you think you paid for your crimes? Maximoff!”

Wanda stepped backwards to try and get away from the reporters. Natasha took the opportunity to catch up and wrapped the witch into her arms, “no comment.” She started pushing the camera’s away from the teenager’s face. Wanda despite her anger and rage turned her face into Natasha’s protective arms, needing the security in that moment. Natasha attempted to lead her away from the crowd. She popped Wanda lightly twice on the backside more for comfort than anything else. “You mustn’t storm off Sweetheart. Lets go back home.”

“Agent Romanoff, is it true you have adopted the witch?” yelled a reporter into her ear. Natasha cradled Wanda closer into her body. The reporters tried to move round around her and shoved a digital recorder under her nose. “Agent Romanoff, how can you guarantee our safety from the witch. We have seen the footage from Lagos and she broke out of prison.”

Natasha scowled but grit her teeth, “No Comment. We will answer all your questions at the press conference next week.”

Her Jaw clenched as she fought back the urge to punch the reporter in his smug face. The reporter realised he had struck a nerve. “Natasha, have you been stuck on babysitting duty? Are you being made to control to witch?”

Natasha just shook her head in disgust, “We will answer all questions at the conference.”

Natasha looked down the street and saw Steve making his way towards them. She sighed in relief. Steve reached his arm out towards Wanda, “come on, we need to catch the jet.”

Wanda shook her head in anger, seeing his face made her grow in confidence. “I’m not going anywhere with you!”

Steve’s face fell in disappointment, while Natasha pinched Wanda’s side. “Do not do this right now Wanda. The whole world is watching us,” she whispered into the teenager’s ear. Wanda lifted her head and looked around her and realised the precarious position they were all in. Wanda was enraged but not stupid, she reached out and grabbed Steve’s outstretched hand.


	39. A New Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, a short update. I guess I'm struggling with inspiration considering the global pandemic at the moment. Your comments are greatly appreciated.

Pepper stomped angrily back up the walkway of the jet, her heels clanking loudly on the metal. Peter followed meekly behind her, being dragged slightly by the wrist. Tony brought up the rear, trying to calm the situation down. 

“Pepper, don’t over-react!” 

She wrenched her neck around harshly to glare at the man, “I’m hardly over-reacting. Steve should never have told Peter about Siberia. Just like it wasn’t our place to tell Wanda about it. It’s not one rule for one and one for another. They are both children.” Pepper released her grip on Peter’s arm, who reacted by just rubbing the red spot on his arm slightly. It hadn’t really hurt him but he was more embarrassed about being frog marched from the restaurant. 

“I’m not a child for the record,” sneered Peter in annoyance. Pepper just narrowed her eyes , “get your butt on the jet, and get ready for the flight. I need to talk to Tony.”

Peter shook his head, “not if you are going to talk about me.”

Pepper in annoyance turned to the teenager, “get in that jet now. I have never been so annoyed with you. How you reacted was childish.”

“Maybe I’m fed up with everyone treating Wanda like some delicate little precious flower!” Shouted Peter. 

Pepper pinched the top of her nose in an attempt to soothe her headache. She exhaled loudly the breathe she didn’t even consciously realise she was holding, “Peter please.”

Peter glanced helplessly between the two adults his anger deflating at the defeated look on their faces. 

“Please Underoo, get on the jet,” sighed Tony as he ran his hand through his black hair. 

………………………………………………….

Wanda wrenched her hand out of Steve’s the second they boarded the jet, her eyes flashing red in anger. 

“Wanda please…”

She held her hand up to silence him, “I don’t want to hear it, I need some space.” she shoved past him purposely driving her shoulder into his.

“Wanda,” rebuked Natasha, “apologise for that now.”

She turned abruptly her hair floating with red tendrils, a literal manifestation of her rage. “Bite me Romanoff.”   
Natasha went to chase after her, as she turned and stormed off, but Steve held up his hand to halt her. “Leave her Nat, let her calm down, we are all a bit emotional right now.”

“She can’t speak to us like that,” snapped Natasha. 

“I know, but she’s an emotional teenager, we need to be the adults here.”

Natasha deflated and capitulated to his words, “Ok Steve.”

He pulled her into his body, rested her head against his chest and ran his fingers through her short blonde hair. 

“I think I miss the red,” he finally whispered. Natasha snorted in laughter, before burying her face into his muscular chest. 

……………………………………………………….

Wanda sat cross legged on her bed, her fingers caressed around the metal Ipod in her hands. It was easier to distract herself when there was something tactile in her hands. 

“Penny for you thoughts,” a voice echoed through the room taking the teenager by surprise. The trip back to the compound had been awkwardly silent. She had avoided everyone like the plague and had been hiding in her bedroom for the last few hours.

“They aren’t even worth that Tony,” replied Wanda eventually. Tony Stark stood awkwardly in the doorway, “Can I come in little Witch?”

Wanda shrugged but nodded her consent. Tony came over and sat on the bed next to Wanda but still kept a distance between them. He waited patiently for her to speak, “What were your parents like Uncle Tony?”

Tony sighed and rubbed his beard slightly, “They were absent, slightly neglectful and overbearing…. but they were my parents and I loved them.”

Wanda nodded, “do you ever find yourself over romanticising the past? Like questioning if it was really a reality?”

Tony nodded, “of course, you always tend to martyr the dead, but even more so for you. You lost your parents when you still thought they were superheroes. They say when you realise your parents are human and fallible is the moment you are truly an adult.”

“Do you miss them?” She asked honestly. 

“Everyday,” replied Tony earnestly, “I replay my last few hours with them over and over again in my head, each time hoping it ends differently, wishing I had said something different.”

Wanda nodded in understanding, “I’m sorry about your parents Uncle Tony.”

Tony awkwardly reached out and placed an arm around the teenager. “It’s ok Sabrina, and it’s ok that you still want to see your Uncle James.” Tony was impressed he managed to say those words with his jaw unclenched. Wanda turned her head and finally looked Tony in the face. “Why did you let them lock me up?”

Tony reached over and tucked a strand of Wanda’s hair behind her ear, “I made a mistake Wanda, I was blinded by the situation that I didn’t even realise they were taking you there. I love you, Pepper loves you, Peter loves you. I know I’ve asked your forgiveness a lot….”

“There is nothing to forgive,” stated Wanda sadly unable to stop the tear escaping her eye and dripping down her cheek. Tony smiled weakly, “you also shouldn’t be mad at Nat and Steve.”

Wanda’s expression changed, “They are always lying to me, they don’t respect me!”

“They do Sabrina, I promise you that. They just want to see you enjoy some semblance of a childhood. You have had to grow up so fast in a war torn country, you lost your brother, your family and your home. We just want give you some of that back. I want to give you some of that back as well,” explained Tony. Wanda pondered on his words, as he stood up. “If you need anything you know where I am,” he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before leaving the room. 

………………………………….

Natasha knocked on the door later that night, she stood waiting patiently by the door. “Can I come in Malyshka?”

“No,” was the abrupt response, “I have nothing to say to you right now.”

“Wanda, I don’t really want to have this conversation with a door. I would rather see your face,” explained Natasha.

“Well I don’t want to see your face…”

Natasha rolled her eyes at the typical teenage response. She pressed the button to open the door and was surprised when it didn’t budge. 

“Wanda, unlock this door now,” she snapped strictly. 

“I don’t want to talk to you right now. Come back later,” explained Wanda through gritted teeth, as she glared at the door. 

Natasha took a deep breath to calm down, “I’m going to count to three and this door better be unlocked or you are going to regret it Wanda.”

Wanda chose to not respond to that threat. Natasha waited for what must have been ten seconds but felt like minutes. “Wanda, one!”

She paused again and was met with silence, “Two!”  
Natasha’s rage was building she never usually got to three, Wanda always gave in before that point, “Three!” She pushed the button on the door, and was surprised when it didn’t budge. 

“You are going to regret this Wanda Maximoff!”

Natasha turned and thundered down the hallway. She barged into the lab, and grabbed hold of Tony’s chair and turned it sharply. 

“Where’s the fire?” asked Tony, and he tried to swivel back to to his work on his suit, but Natasha wedged her foot into the mechanism keeping him in place.

“I need you to unlock Wanda’s door now,” stated Natasha firmly. 

Tony just shook his head, “no can do Romanoff. Wanda asked me if she could have control of her own room. I said yes.” 

“Why would you agree to do that?!” yelled Natasha in frustration, “She is just a child!”

Tony slowly, deliberately pulled his gloves off and tossed them onto the worktop, “no she is not. She is a teenager Romanoff. She is not a child. She is entitled to privacy, she is entitled to space, and she is allowed to be angry.”

“You don’t get to decide what is best for my kid!” said Natasha the fury showing in her tone. 

“No but I think Wanda gets to decide that,” explained Tony. “She doesn’t get to decide a lot of things, but she gets to decide this.”

Natasha deflated at his words, “I just want to protect her.”

“I know you do Nat,” Tony softened his approach. “But part of protecting her is preparing her for the world. You can’t shield her forever, she needs to know you trust her and she needs to know you will be there to catch her when she does make mistakes.”

“When did you get this smart?” asked Natasha trying to lighten the tone. 

“I’ve always been a genius Romanoff.”

………………………………………………………….

Natasha slowly approached the teenager’s door. She knocked on it lightly, “I’m sorry Wanda. I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that. I just want to explain myself to you. I’m sorry, and I’m not just sorry for yelling at your door. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you enough to tell you the truth about Bucky. I just look at you and I see someone I want to protect and cherish. I thought that meant I wanted to protect you from the world, but I got it wrong. I want to show you the world. I want to take you to Paris so you can see the sunrise over the hills of Montmatre , take you for afternoon tea in London, I want to show you my favourite places in Budapest and the salt mines of Krakow. Maybe not Russia…” Natasha tried to lighten the tension of her monologue. “I want to travel the world with you, teach you every language I know. I will make mistakes, I get things wrong more than I would like.”

Natasha paused for a second, to try and hear any noise from the occupant in the room. 

“Just know Wanda, everything I do is because I love you. I get scared Wanda, when I think of anything happening to you. It’s like I’m drowning. The red room sterilises its graduates to prevent this kind of thing. To prevent distractions, I guess they didn’t count on you….”

Natasha placed her palm against the door, hesitating. “Just know Wanda, I’m going to wait for you. I will give you the space you need, but know I’m just outside this door… And I’m not going anywhere….”

Natasha rested her forehead against the metal of the door, exhaling heavily. She then heard the click and voice of Friday reverberating through the door, “Access Granted.”


	40. Inbetween days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Hope you all had a lovely easter, or as lovely as it could be in the current circumstances. I'm going to try and make sunday/monday my update day. 
> 
> As always your feedback means the world!

Natasha slowly crossed the threshold of the room, and observed the curled up body on top of the bed. Wanda was laying on the bed her knees up to her chest, trying to comfort herself in the foetal position. Natasha approached the teen, she gently sat down next to the forlorn figures. She carefully placed her hand on the girl’s back and start running her fingers up and down Wanda’s spine. “Hey baby,” she cajoled. 

Wanda turned her head towards the older woman without really moving her body, causing her back to arch more. “Careful Wanda,” said Natasha quietly, as she pulled the teenager into her body so she was facing the same way. Natasha moved further onto the bed, allowing Wanda to attach to her like a limpet. She buried her head into Natasha’s chest. Natasha soothed her, by stroking her hair with one hand and patting her lower back with the other hand. Wanda sighed in contentment as her free hand fingered the button on Natasha’s blouse. She placed a kiss to the crown of Wanda’s head, “Thanks for letting me in Sweetheart.”

Wanda just nodded, well as much as she could nod in her current position. “I promise to tell you everything.”

Wanda sighed but realised she needed to extract herself from Natasha’s hold to continue this conversation. She pulled herself away and sat up crosslegged facing the older woman. “Ok..” Wanda muttered taking the moment to bring her thoughts together. 

“You need to tell me everything about Siberia,” stated Wanda firmly. 

Natasha rubbed her temple, “I can tell you what I know but the only people who know truly what happened there where Steve, Bucky and Tony.”

“Ok,” replied Wanda. “I can speak to Steve. Do you promise to stop hiding things from me?”

Natasha nodded, “there will be times I just want to protect you, but I will do better to try. I won’t ever lie to you though.”  
Wanda looked at the woman thoughtfully, “You need to start treating me more like an adult.”

“Ok? What does that look like to you?” questioned Natasha.

“It means I’m a full member of the Avengers. I have the autonomy to make my own decisions with your guidance. I can see Vision….”

“Hold up,” said Natasha. “You are still only 16.”

“17 soon,” replied Wanda.

“I know sweetheart. Look I agree to discuss things with you before hand. Even I can recognise I have become slightly more dictatorial recently,” stated Natasha. “But you are still 16, you can’t have that level of autonomy not with the agreement we made with Ross.”

Wanda looked at her thoughtfully, “Ok I want corporal punishment off the table.” 

Natasha cocked an eyebrow at her, “that’s never off the table, you just need to make decisions that means it does not happen.”

Wanda scrunched her face up, “But Nat it’s so embarrassing…”

Natasha shook her head, “I realise that but ultimately you know how to avoid that.”

Wanda rolled her eyes but could see the logic in Natasha’s words much to her irritation. “Then you need to let me see Vision…”

Natasha sucked air through her teeth as she pondered her answer, “Ok….”

Wanda smiled in reaction which made Natasha’s chest lighten despite her trepidation. “But we need to talk about things Wanda, if you start closing up, clamming up, or if I sense issues. I will put a stop to it.” 

“You worry too much Nat,” stated Wanda with a soft smile. 

“Maybe,” replied Natasha. “I can’t help it. I mean look at that cute little face.” She playfully squeezed her cheeks together, causing Wanda to giggle. 

“You are ridiculous Mama,” laughed Wanda. Natasha’s heart lifted at hearing that word leave Wanda’s mouth, it never ceased to amaze her how that one word had the ability to effect her every time she heard it. 

“Maybe,” Natasha joked again. “Now come on you should get into bed. We are up early in the morning.”

Wanda looked at her questionably as Natasha pulled back the duvet and patted the mattress in invitation. “Where are we going?”

“Wakanda,” replied Natasha. “You want answers, so we are going to go and get them for you.” 

Wanda threw herself back into Natasha and wrapped her arms around her neck. “Thank you…”

Natasha just tightened her grip around the witch, savouring the moment. “Ok little witch, get some sleep.” She stroked her hair as she lowered her onto the pillow. Natasha placed a kiss to her forehead before tucking the duvet around the teenager. 

“You don’t need to tuck me in,” said Wanda but there were no irritation in her voice. 

“I know, sometimes I need to do it for purely my own benefit,” replied Natasha. 

……………………………………………………………………………

Tony nursed the glass of Bourbon at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. This day had felt so long, and it had tired him. Pepper moved behind him and rubbed his shoulders. Tony visibly dropped his shoulders and gave in to the ministrations. She placed a kiss to his cheek, “How you doing Tones?”

“I’ve had better days,” replied Tony without his usual snark. Pepper frowned but wrapped an arm loosely around his neck. 

“I’m proud of you,” whispered Pepper into his ear. 

“How’s Peter?” questioned Tony.

“Pouting in his bedroom,” stated Pepper as she poured herself a glass of Bourbon from the decanter on the table. “I’ve told him we will discuss it further in the morning, as I wasn’t quite sure what to say to him.”

Steve walked into the room, “Do you mind if I join you?”

Tony just open hand gestured at the bar, while Pepper poured him a glass of bourbon as well. She gestured towards the ice, but Steve shook his head, “Neat, please.”

Pepper nodded and placed the glass in front of him. “Thanks Pepper.”

They all sat their quietly sipping at their drinks enjoying the warming burn as it made it’s way down to their stomachs. Natasha entered the kitchen and smirked as she surveyed the three of them. She walked around to the other side of the bar, grabbed a glass, and filled it with ice before pouring the bourbon into the glass. Natasha took a long sip before finally opening her mouth, “well today was interesting…”

“That’s one word for it,” replied Pepper with a tightness to her voice. 

Natasha’s smile dropped slightly, “come on Pepper we need to clear the air between all of us. This tension is not good for us, and it’s not good for the kids.” 

Pepper nodded, “I know you are right Nat.”

Tony put his glass down, “How did it go with Wanda?”

Natasha took another sip before answering, “it actually went well, who knew that Tony Stark would be an expert in teenager girls.”

Pepper wrinkled her nose, “did you have to word it in such a creepy way?”

Natasha just smirked. Steve jumped in, “she can’t help it.”

An awkward tittering of laughter overtook the bar. Pepper finally interrupted the laughter, “God, what were we thinking? Taking on teenagers…”

Tony shrugged, “Pepper is always picking up strays it’s how she found me.”

“I'm taking Wanda to Wakanda tomorrow to see Bucky,” stated Natasha. Steve turned to her in shock, “I thought we agreed we weren’t going to tell Wanda about Siberia.”

“We made a mistake Steve, we keep underestimating her,” replied Natasha.

Pepper cut in, “and we keep treating Peter like an adult when he isn’t one. Steve why would you even mention Siberia to Peter…”

Steve scratched at his beard awkwardly, “I’m sorry guys I misread the situation and then didn’t explain it properly. He’s so mature sometimes, and then the next second…”

“I think you just described every male on the planet, “ replied Pepper with a knowing smirk, toasting her glass towards Natasha. They both recognised the gesture of solidarity for more than just that. It was an acceptance and apology for their earlier tiff at the restaurant. 

“She has a point,” echoed Tony. “The truth is Peter and Wanda talk, so we all need to be a united front when dealing with them.”

Steve nodded, “you have a point Tony. I know we have different styles and different ways but we need to have the same concepts especially as we all live together.”

Natasha coughed slightly, “maybe we need to move out.” 

Pepper looked at her in shock, “What? No Nat, we are a family.”

“I know we are Pep, but I also think it would be good for Wanda to escape from the Avenger lifestyle for a bit. I need to show her more of the positive sides of life rather than constantly fighting the bad,” explained Natasha. 

Tony spoke up, “that’s the most sense I think I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth Romanoff.” 

Steve bolted up, “what does that mean for us?”

Natasha glanced over to the man the regret showing on her face, “It means we will need to be apart for a while. Ross won’t let all of us leave, he needs you here to be the face of the Avengers. I need to put Wanda first.”

Steve sadly cradled his glass and downed the last of the amber liquid. “I know you are right, let’s not make it forever though.” 

Natasha reached over and clasped the hand Steve had left on the table. “It’s just temporary. We have been pretending to be other people, and before that she was an Avenger, and an orphan. She needs to be her, and find her place in this world.”

Pepper nodded along, “I don’t like it, because we only just got you back, but I understand why…”

Tony sighed, “I’m going to miss the witch…”

Natasha coughed in annoyance, “And me…”

Tony just smirked at her, “I’m sure I’ll learn to miss you.”

“It’s ok Tony, you will still get my credit card bill,” snapped back Natasha with a smile. 

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” replied Tony warmly. “So you leave in the morning?”

Natasha nodded, “We will be back next week for the conference with Ross, but I was thinking of going to Europe for the week, then the meeting and then Wakanda.”

“I thought you were going Wakanda tomorrow,” stated Pepper.

Natasha ran her fingers through her hair, “I think we should go there when we can spend enough time there and it would be nice if Steve could go to, so we can catch up after the conference, before we leave again.”

Tony nodded, “You could take Peter with you Steve, He loves talking to Shuri, and it might allow the kids to clear the air a bit.” 

“I think we are finally getting the hang of this parenting stuff,” joked Pepper awkwardly. 

“Considering our own track records with parents I think we are excellent,” said Tony with his all knowing grin. 

Steve lifted his empty glass to allow Pepper to top him up, afterwards he raised his glass. “Here’s to the future…” They clinked the glasses together, before the conversation turned merry as the alcohol continued to pour. 

………………………………………..

Natasha for once in her life was grateful for the experiments carried out in the Redroom, as she didn’t have the hangover that Pepper currently had. The woman groaned as Natasha handed her the cup of coffee. 

“Why did we drink that much?”

Natasha shrugged, “sometimes it’s nice to let loose a little.” 

Pepper grimaced as she nodded in agreement, realising her error a fraction to late, “It’s not fair that I’m the only suffering. Steve has the serum, Tony’s liver can break down alcohol like its water.”

“I don’t think we have met a truly sober Tony Stark.”

“Lies, lies, lies,’ muttered Tony from his place across the table, his dark sunglasses hiding his glazed over eyes. “I still feel it, i just choose to ignore it.”

Steve snorted in laughter, from his place at the table. Wanda walked in dressed and ready for the day. She approached Natasha and kissed her cheek to distract her while she grabbed the coffee out of her hands and sat down next to Tony to everyone’s amusement.

“I could have just made you your own coffee,” stated Natasha in faux annoyance. 

“It tastes better when it’s yours,” replied Wanda with a smirk. 

“Cheeky shit,” muttered Natasha under her breath. 

“So what’s the plan?” asked Wanda taking a drink of her appropriated beverage. 

Natasha poured herself another coffee before turning to the teenager. “We are heading off in a few hours to spend the week in Europe.”

“Seriously?” questioned Wanda. She turned to Steve, “Where are we going first?”

Steve coughed awkwardly, “I’m staying here it’s just you and Nat going.”

Wanda looked confused, “But why not?”

Natasha coughed and spoke up, “Steve has to stay and sort some stuff with the accords.” 

“Is this because of me?” asked Wanda. 

Steve stood up, “of course not sweetheart. I just need to stay and do some Avenger related stuff. Don’t worry.”  
“Shouldn’t we stay then?” questioned Wanda innocently. Steve shook his head, “No, go have fun with your mom. We have the conference in a week we can catch up then.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” was Wanda’s response. 

Natasha deciding now was the time for her to lead the conversation, “we are taking a sabbatical Wanda.”

“A sabbatical?” repeated Wanda, not truly understanding the foreign word. 

Tony decided to respond, “you are taking a long holiday away from the Avengers.”

Natasha looked a Tony in slight annoyance, “it means we are taking a break for a year. We will still train but while travelling and enjoying the world.” 

“So what? This week on our own and then Steve joins us,” stated Wanda firmly. 

“Not exactly,” replied Steve. “I will be staying at the compound as an Avenger. I will come out and meet you at times.” 

“No,” said Wanda abruptly. 

Steve look at her thoughtfully, “Wanda, you would be missing out on a wonderful experience. You and Nat seeing the world together. It would upset me if you lost out on that.”

“But you will be missing out,” stated Wanda, “I was hoping we could talk… you know…”

She went all bashful and trailed out at the end of the sentence. Natasha decided to save her from her own teenage awkwardness, “We can all talk after breakfast about it, but for now pancakes or waffles?”


	41. Krakow at Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy. As always your feedback is valued and appreciated.

Wanda took a deep breath as she felt the sun hit her from the balcony of their small flat in the middle of Krakow. It was so beautiful and quaint, greenery surrounded by the old style buildings. Krakow thankfully had been spared unlike most of eastern Europe, which had been razed and destroyed during World War two and subsequent conflicts. It reminded her of Sokovia and home. Natasha approached her from behind and pulled the witch back towards her, “You know I don’t like you hanging over the balcony.” She wagged her finger playfully in front of the witches’s face. 

Wanda rolled her eyes jovially, “it’s not like I’m in any danger Nat.” She let the red energy pulse from her fingertips to evidence her point. 

“No powers,” replied Natasha, lightly slapping at Wanda’s fingers.  
“Don’t be jealous,” Wanda leaned back into Natasha’s body, who naturally wrapped her arms around the younger girl. Natasha rubbed Wanda’s shoulder and spoke up, “Come on now breakfast is ready…”

Wanda turned to face the older woman, “It’s bread and avocado, I’m not sure you can say you got breakfast ready…”

“Well I sliced it, and I got the butter out of the fridge so you can actually spread it on the bread,” replied Natasha in a humorous tone finally releasing the girl from her grasp and walking back into the kitchen.

“To be fair, that’s a pretty good attempt at cooking from you,” joked Wanda back. 

“Do you want juice or water?” Natasha asked as she opened the fridge in anticipation of Wanda’s answer. 

“Is it the freshly squeezed orange?”

“Yeah,” said Nat in response. 

“Juice please,” replied Wanda. Natasha poured a short glass with the juice and set it on the table, beckoning the teenager to sit down. Wanda nodded but turned the radio on quietly in order to have some background sound as they ate. She grabbed a piece of bread off the platter and started to butter it before continuing the conversation .

“So what are we doing today?”

Natasha shrugged slightly, “I figured we could just wander around the town. There is a place that apparently does the best hot chocolate in the world.”

“Better not tell Steve that,” said Wanda, before she realised her words and her mood darkened as she remembered the man was still back at the compound. 

“You can tell Steve if his is better when we see him next week.”

Wanda allowed Natasha’s words to wash over her and she managed a small smile, “Yeah you are right.”

Natasha smiled back in relief at the fact the witches mood had picked back up again. The week so far had gone well. She managed to hide her hurt at the fact that once again Wanda was switching randomly between calling her Nat and Mama. Natasha knew patience was a requirement in this position, and that the witch wasn’t doing it out of spite or to hurt her. 

Wanda spoke her up, “you know Krakow seems oddly familiar, like I’ve been here before.”

Natasha’s attention snapped back to the teenager, “yeah maybe you came as a child, Sokovia isn’t that far from here.”

“Yeah maybe,” replied Wanda, “I don’t really know much about where I’m from…I think my maternal grandfather might have been Polish.”

Natasha kept tightlipped she knew this detail through her contacts when she was trying to research Wanda’s age and origin but recognised now was the not time to divulge this fact. 

“We can spend some time if you want after the conference looking into your heritage,” stated Natasha. “I can understand wanting to know where you have come from…”

Wanda awkwardly jumped up, “No Nat. I didn’t mean I need to know about… I don’t need… I have you…” She finished weakly, worried she had upset the spy with this conversation. 

“Wanting to know about your past doesn’t negate your future Wanda. You will always be my kid. I was the same, one of the first things I did once I was free from the KGB was try to find my birth parents,” said Natasha in reassurance. 

Wanda looked at her thoughtfully, “did you have family in the Red-room?”

Natasha paled slightly at that, “you could almost say that, but my history is complicated. Finish up your bread, and then we can head out into the town.” 

Wanda sighed but recognised this was one topic that Natasha did not want to discuss right now. 

…………………………………..

Wanda wasn’t sure there was anything better than wandering down the square eating local street food. Zapiekanka and Pierogi they shouldn’t really go together but Wanda didn’t care. Natasha laughed at the teenager, “you could try and get some of the cheese in your mouth.”

Wanda shook her head, “it’s so big, and it’s ok I will run it off tomorrow during training.”

Natasha smiled and bumped the teenager’s shoulder, “Oh don’t you worry about that sweetheart.”

Wanda frowned at the older woman before descending into giggles. She looked thoughtfully at the woman, “What’s your favourite place in the entire world?”

If Natasha was surprised by the random question she concealed it well, “the farm.”

Wanda scoffed, “you have travelled all over the world, and a farm in America is your pick.”

Natasha wrapped her arm around Wanda’s shoulder, “Sometimes it’s not about the place, it’s about the people. It was the first place that ever felt like home.” 

Natasha hesitated as her mind wandered, and Wanda picked up on the pause. 

“Did you ever have another family? Other than the Barton’s. Do you remember your parents?”

Natasha sighed and shook her head, “I don’t know who my father is. I was abandoned at the Red Room as a child.”

“You have mentioned the Red Room a few times, what exactly was it?”

“It was a KGB training facility for the Black Widow Programme. It was designed to create elite Assassins. It was a harsh, unforgiving and cruel, and it created me.”  
Wanda grabbed Natasha’s hand that was swinging limply by her side. “You are none of those things. You are my loving, caring, stubborn Mama.”

Natasha snorted with laughter at the stubborn, “you would say that.”

“Why did you join Shield?”

“Atonement,” answered Natasha quickly. “I did some terrible things for the KGB.”

“But that wasn’t your fault,” replied Wanda quickly. 

“Did you know you were Jewish?” replied Nat. 

Wanda looked at her with cocked eyebrow, “I am?”

Natasha nodded, “it’s why I haven’t fed you any Pork or Shellfish. But I don’t really know much else unfortunately.”

“Why mention it now?” asked Wanda in confusion. Natasha gestured to the holocaust memorial in front of them. 

“Because I am still responsible for my actions in the KGB,” stated Natasha firmly. “I had a choice.”

“You were brainwashed!” stated Wanda firmly. 

Natasha sighed, “Most War criminals say they were brainwashed or they had to do it.”

“You were a weapon,” said Wanda firmly. 

“I agree,” replied Natasha. “I joined Shield to try and make amends, be a force of good. Being an Avenger I knew I was doing the right thing.”

“How did you know that Shield was good?” asked Wanda innocently. 

“I didn’t,” said Natasha. “I wasn’t even sure they always were, and I was proven correct when it turned out Hydra was eating away at them. But there was one big difference between Shield/Hydra and the KGB.”

Wanda turned to her inquisitively, “What’s that?”

“Free-will,” answered Natasha. “I had a choice. I could refuse missions, and while I had to follow orders to an extent. I was allowed my own moral compass.” 

Wanda nodded in understanding.

“You are powerful Wanda, and as you master your abilities. People may fear you, people may try to use you for your own agenda, just remember to always keep your own Moral centre,” said Natasha.  
“I’m not sure I have one,” stated Wanda weakly.

“Of course you do. You will make mistakes. it’s called being a belligerent teenager. I am here to guide you and help you. I want you to learn from my errors and be better than I could ever be.”

“That’s a lot of pressure Nat,” replied Wanda in worry.

“Don’t overthink it,” said Nat quickly. “Come on let’s wander back to the flat. I’m hot, tired and sweaty, and I think wine on the balcony is a must this evening.”

“Me too?” asked Wanda.

“One glass yes,” stated Nat. Wanda smirked, “I think I like this version of you Mama.”

…………………………………………

Wanda was still giggling as they climbed the stairs in the old building. Natasha groaned, “I had to book the traditional place, I couldn’t have gone for the one with an elevator.”

Wanda snorted in amusement, “Like you are actually tired.”

“Good point,” replied Natasha approaching the door. She went to put her key into the lock, but paused suddenly, appraising the wood in front of her. She noticed the faint scraping down the side of the door, and narrowed her eyes dangerously. 

“Wanda stay in the hallway. Do not come into the flat. Do you understand?”

The smile fell from Wanda’s face, “What? Why?”

Natasha brought her hand up to her lips to shush her. “Quiet Wanda,” she whispered. “Do as you are told…”

Natasha reached under her jeans, and pulled out her Glock and cocked it. She slowly entered the flat sweeping carefully and fluidly through each room. Natasha slowed her breathing down and listened carefully until the only thing she could hear was her own heartbeat in her chest. She focused herself and then she heard it, the faint murmur above her head. Natasha instinctually shot up to the ceiling, the loud bang reverberated around the room. 

The figure dropped down knocking the gun from Natasha’s hands, it skidded across the kitchen under the table. Nat reacted quickly pulling a knife from her ankle holder, throwing it against the assailant. The figure dodged the knife fractionally too slow and it sliced against her arm before embedding in the wall. An arm shot out to punch her in the face which Natasha quickly blocked, she dropped down to the floor in order to sweep out the legs. The figure anticipated this move and jumped up, kicking Natasha in the chest sending her flying backwards against the floor. 

“You have gotten sloppy Natalia,” the voice mocked in the shadows. Her accent evidencing that english was not her first language. 

“You got lucky,” replied Nat in annoyance. She dropped into a fighting pose and approached the woman, as they mirrored each punch and kick. 

Wanda burst into the room at that moment, unable to wait outside any longer. Seeing the wreck in front of her. She gestured quickly towards the knife embedded in the wall, and sent it hurtling towards the woman combatant. Natasha reacted quickly and stepped in front of the woman causing Wanda to force the Knife to drop mid-air. 

Wanda paused in genuine confusion, “what’s going on?” she stuttered. 

“Who is this Natalia?” asked the woman sharply. “Seems a bit young for you.”

Natasha rolled her eyes at the other woman. “It’s not like that….”

Wanda looked between the two sweating woman, the blood and the wreckage. “I don’t understand…..”

Natasha sighed and turned to her assailant, “Just for once. Could you knock like a normal person?”

The woman shrugged before picking up a tea towel wrapping it tightly against her bleeding arm. 

“Who is this?” asked Wanda again in confusion. 

“Yeah big sister, aren’t you going to introduce me?” asked the figure who stepped out of the shadows into the light. She was wearing a jump suit, her blond hair braided at the the back. 

At those words Wanda’s jaw dropped as she struggled to comprehend what the woman had inferred. The word fell quietly from her lips, “Sister?”

Natasha sighed, “Wanda, this is Yelena.”

Yelena smirked at the younger girl, “nice to make your acquaintance Wanda. So who are you to Natalia?”

“It’s complicated,” replied Wanda weakly. 

“No it’s not,” responded Natasha. “Wanda is my kid.”

Yelena smirked, “so I have a niece. I thought you would have mentioned it Natalia.”

“It’s not like we text each other,” snarked back Natasha. “Do what do I owe this visit?”

“We need to talk,” replied Yelena more seriously. “Let’s have tea.”

“Hold up,” interrupted Wanda, “You two were just kicking the crap out of each other! Someone needs to tell me what is going on?”

“Wanda. This is my baby sister Yelena. We grew up together.”

Wanda looked confused for a second before she really acknowledged and processed Natasha’s words. “The red room,” she stated. 

Yelena just nodded, “You are looking at the top two graduates of the Black Widow programme.” 

Natasha snorted, “She is the second best graduate of the programme.”

Yelena narrowed her eyes at her older sibling. “Are you ever going to let that go?”

“Are you ever going to stop trying to stab me with sharp implements?” snapped back Natasha. 

Natasha walked over to the kitchen side and flipped the kettle on, being careful to avoid the broken glass and wood on the ground. 

“Did you have to destroy our place?” asked Wanda with her arms crossed against her chest glaring at the blonde woman. 

Natasha appraised the kitchen, “I think we are losing our deposit.”

Yelena scoffed, “I like this one.” she gestured animatedly towards Wanda, “She has sass.”

“I have more than sass,” threatened Wanda as her eyes started to glow red, as she lifted her arm towards the blonde woman.

Natasha looked over at the teenager, “Wanda stop that,” stated Natasha firmly. “She is family.”

“Family, I never even knew about. She broke in here and attacked you!” moaned Wanda in confusion. Still slightly in shock at the sudden turn of events. 

“It is our way,” replied Yelena with a shrug of her shoulders. Natasha poured the water in the cup with the green tea, and handed it to Yelena, “Do you need stitches?” she gestured in concern to Yelena’s shoulder. 

Yelena shook her head, “No, sis. One day I’m going to cut you first.”

Natasha snorted in amusement, “whatever you say Little Sister.”

Yelena looked at the woman dangerously but didn’t say anything else. “So why are you here, Yelena?” asked Natasha.

Yelena cocked her head to the side, “I could just be here to visit my favourite sister.”

“I’m your only sister that is alive,” shot back Natasha. 

“Only because we killed the rest,” replied Yelena. 

“Don’t,” interrupted Natasha with a sideways glance towards Wanda. There were certain details that Wanda did not need to know. 

“I’m here because the red room still exists,” stated Yelena seriously. 

Natasha looked at her in confusion, “what do you mean? We razed them all to the ground.”

Yelena shook her head, “they are not. They are back, and they are Hydra.”

Wanda sucked in air when she heard that word. Yelena looked at her in curiosity, “so you are familiar with Hydra.”

“Not the time Yelena,” snapped back Natasha. 

“You are very protective of your little spider,” stated Yelena in amusement. “Anyway I need your help taking them down. Mother and Father wish to see you as well.”

At those words Wanda’s head nearly exploded. “What???”


	42. The Yalta Conference

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. Thank you for all the lovely comments. Any critique and input is always welcome.

Wanda crossed her arms and glared at Natasha as the older woman brushed up the last piece of glass. Yelena was on the sofa, sprayed out limbs hanging off the side. 

“Have you got something to say?” asked Natasha as she straightened back up again and looked at the teenager who was sat on the kitchen side, her legs swaying and tapping the kitchen cabinet below her. 

“You are always lying to me,” snapped Wanda. Natasha threw the broken glass into the bin and turned to face the teenager. 

“I didn’t lie to you. I just didn’t tell you about my Russian family. It’s complicated and awkward,” explained Natasha before adding a “and watch your tone Malyshka.”

“Can I jump down now?” asked Wanda petulantly. Natasha surveyed the kitchen floor aware how glass had the propensity to “jump”.

“Yeah all clear.”

Wanda hopped down off the side. “So when are we chasing down the new Redroom?”

Natasha sighed, “we will go back for the conference and you will stay with your father. I will sort this mess with Yelena.”

“Not a chance,” interrupted Wanda. “I want to know about all this. I want to meet your family. I can help.”

“Wanda, it’s too dangerous. This isn’t messing around. These people are trained killers. You aren’t ready. I can’t put you in this much danger,” stated Natasha firmly. 

“You promised you would never leave me behind again,” said Wanda quickly.

Natasha winced at the low blow. “Wanda, you don’t follow instructions enough.”

Wanda snorted and gestured angrily towards the sofa, “And she does??”

“She,” came the voice from the sofa. “Knows what she is doing and is not a child.”

Wanda was surprised and had almost forgotten the women was there listening to their entire conversation. “I bet you were doing missions at my age…”

Yelena nodded and cocked her head to the side, but still remained laying prone on the sofa, “we were younger.”

“That’s my point,” said Wanda. Natasha glared at her sibling in annoyance, “Yelena,” she barked. 

Yelena stood up from the sofa and approached the younger witch, “She seems like could help.” She moved into the younger woman’s face, inches away from her nose. 

“I sense power,” she stated.

“I have power,” stated Wanda firmly. 

Natasha rolled her eyes, “Wanda calm down, Yelena stop winding my kid up.”

Yelena stretched her back dramatically arching and reaching her fingertips to the ceiling. 

“Isn’t it her bedtime now? The grown ups need to talk,” expressed Yelena. 

Wanda’s face soured, while Natasha glanced at her wrist. “It is late Wanda, can you go get ready for bed please.”

Wanda shook her head furiously, “No chance.”

“Wanda, do as you are told,” stated Natasha firmly. 

Yelena scoffed, “do you have any control? Mother would have clipped your ear by now.”

“I’m not a dog!” shouted Wanda. 

“Yelena stop it,” snapped Natasha glaring at the blonde woman, who had the grace to look chastised. She then turned to Wanda, “We are all going to sleep Baby. We can all talk about this in the morning. You aren’t being left out.”

Wanda begrudgingly looked between the two older women, before approaching Natasha and giving her a short hug. Natasha kissed Wanda’s head before turning her and playfully swatting her backside urging her to the bedroom. 

Natasha looked over at Yelena, who smiled at the older woman. “So are we top and tailing it?”

Natasha just shook her head, “the sofa not good enough for you?”

“As if you would let me sleep for the evening on the sofa?” replied back Yelena warmly. 

Natasha groaned, “let me check you arm. Are you going to stop this big I am attitude now my little spider is going to bed. No-one left for you to impress.”

“Natalia,” she moaned, but presented her arm to the older woman. 

“Have you disinfected it?”

“I’m not an amateur,” stated Yelena in annoyance. 

Natasha scoffed again, “Could have fooled me? That was an amateur job on the door.”

“Hey, maybe I wanted you to know I was in there,” replied Yelena defensively.

“You are going to get yourself killed one day,” stated Natasha. “I don’t think Mother would be impressed with your recklessness.”

“Oh come on Nat,” said Yelena. “You used to be a lot more fun than this. Remember Budapest?”

Natasha laughed at the woman, “Budapest is not a story I want sharing with Wanda.” She turned back affectionately to the blonde, “Do you still need the handcuffs?”

Yelena dropped her head to the floor in shame before picking her eyes up and shaking her head, “of course not.”

Natasha just gave her a knowing look, “sometimes I still need the metal.”

Yelena sighed, “but not all the time.”

Natasha looked at her at in empathy, “it takes time.”

“It didn’t take you any time,” snapped Yelena. Natasha stroked her hair, “stop comparing apples and pears.’

“Natalia, don’t baby me…”

Natasha scoffed at her, “I will always baby you.”

She teasingly whispered ‘you are my baby sister’ in Russian in her ear. 

“I’ve missed you Natasha,” she responded. “It’s hard when you are a reminder of…”

Natasha nodded sadly, “it’s the same for me. I should see you more, but you remind me of that room. The people we killed. The children we killed.”

“I always thought you were ashamed of me when you left us all behind,” stated Yelena softly. “I mean we all wanted to leave…..” 

“I always regret defecting without you,” said Natasha sadly. “I didn’t mean to turn my back on you. I know it’s not your fault. I just needed space…”

“We don’t have to rehash this conversation every time Natty,” expressed Yelena. “I would have traded us in for the American model as well.” 

Natasha rolled her eyes at her sibling. “It wasn’t like that and you know it.” Wanda cleared her throat awkwardly as she realised she was interrupting something. She approached the older women gingerly. 

“I’m sorry… I…”

Natasha turned to look at the teenager, stripped of her make-up standing there in her nightgown. She looked so young to her. The conversation between the two women had left Natasha feeling raw. Natasha approached Wanda and wrapped her arms around the teenager tightly. 

Wanda tried to turn her head in confusion, but Natasha kept her pinned to her body.   
“You ok?” she asked her voice muffled by Natasha’s shoulder. In response Natasha just hoisted the girl up and onto her hip. Wanda wrapped her arms around Natasha’s neck in shock and in order to feel stable, “Mama! put me down. I’m not a little kid.”

“Say goodnight to your aunt,” was all Natasha’s reply.

“Nat, put me down. I’m 16 not 6. I’m nearly taller than you!”

Natasha just hoisted her up again, as she was slipping as she squirmed to be put down. She used her free hand to put Wanda’s face into the crook of her neck. “Come on baby it’s bedtime.”

Wanda sighed but relaxed into the hold realising the assassin wasn’t putting her down anytime soon. Natasha carried her into the room, during the walk Wanda noticed a slight dampness on her front. She was gently lowered onto the bed. 

“What’s wrong?” asked Wanda in confusion.   
“Nothing…..”

Wanda cocked an eyebrow at her maternal figure. Natasha wiped her face with her sleeve, “It’s fine Wanda. Sometimes memories of the past can be overwhelming.”

“I understand that,” replied Wanda earnestly. “You miss me don’t you…”

Natasha looked at her in confusion, “You are right here.”

“You miss baby me,” said Wanda. “You changed after that. You have treated me more like a child since that happened.”

Natasha sighed at the girl who was sat up in her bed. “I’m not going to lie to you. I loved having you as a baby, but I also love teenager you.”

Wanda shook her head, “you baby me too much.”

“I know I do,” stated Natasha as she tucked the duvet around her body. “Sometimes I look at you and I just see a little girl, and then I look at you again and I see the adult you will become.”

“You promised to show me the world,” said Wanda. Natasha ran her fingers through her short hair that she had recently dyed back red. 

“I will,” replied Natasha. 

“Stop hiding everything from me,” said Wanda. 

Natasha kissed Wanda’s head and pulled back, “you have to know I’m an Assassin and a spy. I’m not used to sharing personal details. I don’t mean to always keep things from you.”

Wanda just raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

“Ok, so sometimes I do keep things from you,” accepted Natasha. 

“You need to let me stay and help with the Red room,” explained Wanda. 

Natasha looked at the teenager, “You can…. under certain provisions..” She finished when she saw the happiness building in the teen. 

“You have to do as you are told. The second you disobey an instruction, you are going back to New York with a sore backside,” said Natasha firmly. “Be nicer to your Aunt Yelena as well.” She added as an afterthought.   
Wanda scrunched her nose up slightly, “do i have to call her Aunt?”

“No you don’t,” laughed Natasha. “But do stop raising to the bait when she goads you, because she will goad you.”

Wanda nodded. Natasha smiled before leaving the room and turning the light off. 

Yelena stood in the hallway leaning against the door frame, “The infamous Black Widow, scourge of the world and loving Mama.”

Natasha looked at her with mock annoyance, “she has some serious power,” muttered Yelena. “I’m glad she can help.”

“She is not a weapon,” snapped Natasha.

“Calm down Mama bear…I’m just happy you have someone else to fuss over for once.”

“I don’t fuss,” stated Natasha in annoyance. 

Yelena rolled her eyes, “you fuss more than mother.”

“Come on you let’s go to bed….”

……………………………………………………………….

“Anything else your majesty?”

Natasha turned to Tony in annoyance, “I need the best you have to offer Tony. Wanda needs the best.”

Tony swivelled in his chair, “I have updated your widow bites, and the new jump suits have all the safety precautions you can imagine. I borrowed some Vibranium from T’challa.” He said the word borrowed while making the inverted commas gesture, just in case Natasha had missed the real meaning of the word. 

“What about the GPS tracking in Wanda’s suit?” questioned Natasha.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea Romanoff,” explained Tony. “GPS can be used both ways.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow at him, “I thought your security was the best in the world.”

Tony sighed, “we all got burnt by Ultron. Your suits have comms, Maps, the works but if this mission is as dangerous as you say it is….”

“I need to know where she is at all times Tony,” stated Natasha. Tony held his arms up in defeat, “Ok, ok, ok, as long as you know the risks.” 

Natasha nodded, “I know the risks better than most.” 

“Are you sure about this Nat?” asked Tony gently. 

Natasha sighed and slumped into the chair next to Tony. “No, it terrifies me… but I can’t leave Wanda behind again.”

“This is a real mission Nat, you didn’t even want her going on training missions before now,” expressed Tony.

“I am aware,” snapped Nat, before she realised Tony did not deserve her ire. “I’m sorry Tony. I’m going to try and keep her as our comms link.”

Tony huffed in amusement, “good luck with that one.”

“She will do as she is told,” said Natasha firmly.

“Didn’t realise you had a magic teenager who listens to everything you say without question. You should patent that.”

Natasha just narrowed her eyes at the billionaire, “Very droll Stark.”

“I try,” he muttered before he turned more serious, “you know if you need us, we will be there.”

“I know Tony, but the Avengers are on shaky ground at the moment. This needs to be covert and quiet, neither of those words can be used to describe you.”

“Fair,” agreed Tony. “I do prefer a level of showmanship.”

Natasha rolled her eyes at him playfully, “can you ever be serious?”

Tony turned his chair to face the agent, “I am here if you need me. If you ever need me…”

Natasha placed a calming hand on his knee, “I know.” These were the only words than needed to be spoken between the two adults. 

………………………………………………………………………………….

Wanda nervously picked at the fabric of her dress as the fabric stretched over her knees as she sat fidgeting. They had been back from Poland for several days as they prepared for the conference. Natasha had told Wanda to make no mention of Yelena, as apparently she was technically a wanted fugitive in America. They were going to rendezvous at a location in Berlin after they had finished their conference. Pepper grabbed her hand firmly, “Wanda, calm down. It’s going to be ok?”

“Is Mama here yet?”

Pepper shook her head, “She is just meeting with the officials before the conference.”

Wanda sighed, “I don’t want to do this.”

Pepper grasped Wanda’s hand softly and rubbed the top of it with her thumb, “What’s wrong?”

“Everyone is going to look at me at like I’m a dangerous freak….”

Pepper frowned at the girl, “You are not a dangerous freak.”

“Don’t lie to me,” whispered Wanda sadly. Pepper looked out of the corner of her eye and noticed Natasha enter the room and beckoned her towards them.

Natasha approached the table where the young witch was seated. “You ok little one?”

Wanda sighed before putting on a brave face, “I’m good Nat.”

Pepper shot Natasha a knowing look, before saying her goodbyes and going to find Tony. 

“You going to tell me what is really going on?” questioned Natasha as soon as Pepper had vacated her seat.

Wanda shrugged, “Can we just get this over with?”

The event seemed to drag on to Wanda’s perspective, just a bunch of white men all talking about their own sense of grandiosity. Before she knew it, it was the point of the day she was most dreading the Q&A session at the end with the all rabid reporters. Wanda determined already that she hated Journalists with a fiery passion. She was sat between Natasha and Steve at the head of the table. The first few questions were aimed at Tony and the structure of the new avengers. Wanda practically zoned out of the event before she was finally interrupted out of her malaise by the sound of Natasha’s voice. “She is named Wanda,” Natasha instructed the impertinent reporter in the front. 

The reporter in the front coughed awkwardly, “Ok, how do you to intend to control Wanda? She has proven to be a liability several times, surely we would all be safer for her to not be out in public.”

Wanda cringed visibly, and Tony spoke up, “Wanda is a valuable member of her team, and is of irreplaceable value.”

Wanda turned her head and smiled at her uncle, and catching the little wink he sent her. 

“Excuse me, didn’t she just storm off the other week?” asked another reporter. 

Natasha scoffed, “She is still a teenager.”

The room laughed at the outburst, though Wanda turned to her and scrunched her nose in disdain. Natasha continued to speak, “despite you lot harassing her and grabbing at her. None of you were obviously fearful or you wouldn’t have harangued her like that?” She raised her eyebrow at the end to emphasise the clearly rhetorical question, almost daring someone to argue with her. 

The reporter sat down feeling chastised, before another stood up, “Wanda, how do you feel about being placed in the custody of Captain America and Black Widow?”

Wanda stuttered slightly, “I’m not….”

The room went silent before the out-roar started, with bickering and yelling across the room. The reporters turned to Tony, “was it not a provision of the accords?” Though it was hard to pick out one question in the sea of noise. Tony placed his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, “Don’t you think you should let Wanda finish answering your question?”

Wanda blushed under the attention, “Nat and Steve are my parents not Captain America and the Black widow…” When the room stayed uncharacteristically quiet Wanda continued to speak, “they are their code names…”

Natasha smiled warmly at the witch before addressing the room, “any more questions?”

A few reporters raised their arms, “about the Avengers, not about my kid or questioning my parental abilities?”

A lot of the hands dropped under Natasha’s glare. “Right, let’s wrap this up..”

Steve grabbed Wanda’s sleeve, and whispered in her ear, “And that’s why everyone is terrified of Natasha Romanoff. Not the Black Widow…”


	43. What we see depends mainly on what we look for

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a bit late, but it's here. It's difficult to get inspired while in Lockdown. I have time but I am slowly driving myself crazy. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! I hope you all enjoy.

“Well I don’t think that went too badly,” stated Steve in between taking deep breaths as he lay prone on the bed. 

Natasha just smiled at him, “Is that your way of saying thanks for not telling them to go fuck themselves?”

“Pretty much.”

Natasha turned onto her side so she should look Steve in the face. She leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on to his lips. He smiled into the contact, and pulled the woman closer into his body. Natasha relaxed into his hold, “that didn’t go too badly either.” The innuendo was not lost on the man, who chortled slightly in amusement. “I’m glad I managed to reach your lofty standards.”

“You were adequate,” responded Natasha, but the smirk on her face gave her true feelings away. 

Steve smiled back, “I missed you Nat.”

She sighed slightly, “I missed you too, but we have that week in Wakanda before we head off to Berlin.”

Steve grimaced slightly, “I don’t need to remind you how much I dislike your plan.”

Natasha shook her head as she inched away from Steve’s naked body , but pulled the duvet up and wrapped it around her body as she sat up not caring that it left the man exposed. 

“I think you made your thoughts quite clear before our angry passionate make up sex,” explained Natasha as she stood up and started trying to collect her clothes that had been flung around the room. 

Steve reached over the bed and started to shimmy his boxers up his legs to cover his nudity. He stood up stretching before heading over to the mirror in the bedroom, gazing at his neck in annoyance. “Did you give me a hickey?”

Natasha shrugged her shoulders, “I plead the 5th.” 

“Nat… We still need to talk about this Redroom stuff…”

Steve turned to face the woman after asking the question and was surprised to see her fully dressed. “No we don’t. It’s my business and my problem.”

“Nat… We are a couple. We make decisions together,” explained Steve tightly. 

“Not this we don’t,” replied Natasha firmly. 

“What about Wanda? I should get a say!” said Steve in exasperation. 

“She’s my kid.”

“No. She’s our kid! I helped raise her for over 6 months… We played happy families,” said Steve. 

“Let’s not start this all over again,” said Natasha in exasperation. She approached him and kissed his cheek chastely. “We don’t have time for another round.”

Natasha turned and left the room quickly, leaving Steve to moan loudly, lean and fall backwards onto the spent mattress. 

…………………………………….

Peter scratched at the back of his neck, it was an awkward tick he had developed whenever he felt nervous. It was this unconscious action that he seemed unable to stop or prevent. Peter knew he would never be a Poker player, or a spy. He couldn’t lie, and his emotions were always front, centre and worn on his sleeve. Tony had assured him that it was a good thing, and that he should wear his feelings. Peter doubted this was true, as he reached out once again to knock on the door but hesitated before his hand touched the wood again. He took a deep shuddering breath trying to steady himself to actually make the contact. Peter reached his hand back as if it gave him power, before once again halting a centimetre from the Oak. He slapped his own head in annoyance before muttering under his breath, “Stupid… Stupid… Stupid…”

Suddenly the door swung open, and Wanda looked up at him from the bed, “you know you are practically telegraphing your thoughts…”

Peter looked at her sheepishly his hand once again reaching to scratch his neck, “hey…”

Wanda just stared at him as the pair of teens stayed silent and unmoving in each other’s presence. “Are you just going to loiter awkwardly in my door like a pervert in a library?”

Peter blushed like a tomato and groaned, “Wanda…”

Wanda just laughed at him, “Well I mean come on, you are being super weird even for you Parker.”

Peter realised this was Wanda’s way of saying all was forgiven and he was grateful for the opportunity, neither teen wanted to bring up that awkward dinner. 

“You want to play Cod?”

Wanda nodded, and used her powers to grab the controllers off the side. “Let’s go Parker.”

Natasha approached the room, the laughter echoed through the hallway and she smirked at hearing the giggles escaping her daughter and the indignant response of Peter. 

“Stop stabbing me!”

This utterance was followed by another happy giggle. “You should watch your back Parker.”

“Or you could use a gun like everyone else on this game?” moaned Peter.

“I don’t like guns…why use them when I can sneak up and stab you without alerting your teams mates to my position with gunfire,” replied Wanda knowingly. Natasha could always tell when the witch was happy and relaxed as that was when you could hear her natural accent slipping through. 

Natasha snorted in amusement alerting the teens to her presence. She smirked happy that Wanda had at least been listening during her lessons on covert operations. 

Peter pointed an accusatory finger at the older woman, “this is all your fault.”

Natasha held her hands up in mock defeat, “it’s not my fault you suck.”

Peter turned his head to glare at the woman, allowing Wanda the opportunity to get him again. 

“You aren’t very good are you Parker?” joked Natasha. Peter turned quickly and shot webbing out aimed at Wanda’s controller and sent it hurtling towards the wall. 

“Cheat,” laughed Wanda taking the action in her stride. 

“Not cheating, strategy,” replied Peter with a smirk. Natasha smiled at the two kids, “we better even the odds then.” She shared a knowing look with Wanda and then pounced on the boy, holding his arms firmly. Wanda followed suit and started to tickle the squirming teenager, who was now chortling in amusement. “Stop it,” he gasped. Natasha let it continue for a bit before eventually relaxing her hold and allowing the red faced kid to escape. 

“Not fair,” he gasped. Peter looked at Natasha with shock hurt, “I thought spiders were supposed to stick together.”

Wanda rolled her eyes playfully, “Peter how long does your webbing take to wear off?”

Peter looked bashfully at the witch and glanced over at the wall where the controller was held, “Um…. maybe we should order another one from Amazon…”

Wanda grabbed the pillow on her bed and used it to knock Peter onto the floor with a grunt. 

…………………………………………………………………..

“Make sure you do as Uncle Steve and Aunt Natasha tell you…”

Peter shrugged his shoulders, “I know….I did stay with them for months….”

Tony looked back at him, “Underoo… Listen to me. You know that Bu.. He will be there…”

He found himself struggling to say the name it just got stuck on his lips so he resorted too ‘He’ to avoid the pain the name carried.

Peter’s jaw tightened in response, “I’m going to see Shuri and T’challa, not him.”

“I know, but don’t start a fight… ok…no debate… no arguments…”

“Da..Mr Stark…” moaned Peter. 

“I mean it Pete. If you can’t promise that…” Tony let the sentence trail off. “It’s just a week, and then it’s back to school. Your Aunt May is getting a bit annoyed at me monopolising all your time…”

Peter snorted, “I don’t think she minds your communication through Happy.”

Tony put an innocent expression on his face, “I have no idea what you are talking about..”

“Now who is the naive one,” replied Peter in amusement. 

“They are both red blooded adults…”

Peter cringed, “can you not talk about my aunt in that way..”

Tony laughed in amusement, “sorry Underoo…"

Natasha walked into the room and approached the pair, “you ready Pete?”

Peter nodded. 

“Come on then lets go, you got your bag?” asked Natasha.

Peter grabbed his backpack off the flung and swung it haphazardly across his back. Tony awkwardly patted his back. Natasha rolled her eyes at him, “Just give him a hug Stark and stop being your usual emotionally constipated self.”

Tony huffed at the assassin, “like you can talk!”

“I’m better than you,” replied Natasha. 

“See I told you, we would need to come and break them up,” muttered Pepper to Steve as they walked into the room. Wanda trailing behind them. 

“Nat, is Steve the only male you don’t bicker like children with?” asked Tony.

“No,” replied Natasha with a smirk, “We just have a different way of dealing with our…. disagreements..”

Pepper grimaced, “not in front of the kids….”

Wanda snorted, “not a kid. I know they are talking about sex….”

“They had an argument today,” stated Peter, using his fingers to gesticulate the word argument. 

Steve blushed slightly. 

“Kids don’t embarrass the dinosaur,”joked Natasha. 

“Very funny Romanoff,” replied Steve in mock annoyance. Natasha glanced down at her watch, “we really need to get going T’challa is expecting us for dinner.”

……………………………………….

The dry heat hit her face as soon as she stepped off the Quinjet, Wanda took a deep breath too soon, as the plane landing had caused the dust to kick up around them. She choked slightly as she struggled to inhale. Wanda bent over to catch her breath, only to be righted by a strong arm which picked her up and carried her away from the plane. She rested her forehead on the shoulder recognising it immediately as Natasha’s. Wanda felt herself being deposited back on her feet, and then felt a hard swat connect with her backside, which made her inhale sharply, which restarted her breathing in the clear air. 

“I told you to wait on the jet until I said it was clear,” remonstrated Natasha. 

“I didn’t hear you over the engines,” moaned Wanda trying to rub the sting away. 

Natasha sighed, “you are going to make me prematurely grey…”

Wanda smiled at the woman, “I’m not sure you can call it prematurely anymore, you are kind of old…”

Natasha popped her lightly on the backside again in jest, “you are such a cheeky shit…”

She put an arm around Wanda’s shoulder, “come on you, you never want to be late for a Wakandan feast.”

“Wait for us!” yelled a voice behind them as Peter ran to catch up with them. Natasha turned around and beckoned the teenage boy under her other arm. He slightly barged into her and Nat wrapped a firm hand around Peter’s shoulder pulling him closer. 

“Hey… I’m not carrying all the bags….”

Natasha turned her head slightly and looked over her shoulder at the comical site of Steve trying to carry all the bags. Two holdalls rested on his shoulders while he held multiple backpacks in his hand. Natasha sniggered slightly, “you seem to have it under control Rogers….”

She giggled, turned back and started walking towards the palace. 

………………………………………………………………

Shuri tossed the brace towards Wanda who caught it easily one handed.

“Is this it?” questioned Wanda.

“No… I just thought you needed to update your fashion accessories,” replied Shuri.

Peter chortled as Wanda pulled a face at her fellow teenager. “Finally Wands, someone as sarcastic as you,” stated Peter in amusement. 

Wanda just glared at the boy before snapping the brace onto her wrist, “So how does this work?” she asked turning back to Shuri.

“Like we said, absorbs your powers like a battery. I mean when you want it to….” Shuri trailed off.   
Wanda was always worrying about the lack of stamina she had with her powers. She knew on a good day she could beat anyone, but she quickly became exhausted harnessing the immense power given to her by an infinity stone. This was her back-up. 

“Have you told anyone about it?” asked Wanda curiously. 

“No… You know how my brother and your mother are. They would want it extensively tested before…” she trailed off again. Wanda turned to Peter who was fidgeting awkwardly and trying to look at the wall of the room.

“Peter,” warned Wanda. “Don’t you dare….”

Peter gave a deer in the headlights expression to the two girls. Shuri also turned on him, “Parker….”

“I’m not saying a word. But if Aunty Nat asks me I won’t lie,” replied Peter. 

Wanda rolled her eyes, “Oh come on Peter. She’s not even acting.. you know….” She paused for a moment as she tried to think of the words, “in Loco Parentis.” 

Peter just looked at her bewildered, “We both know Aunty Nat would take me in hand.”

Shuri glanced turning her head between them in confusion, before she finally burst out into hysterical laughter.

“What’s so funny??” asked Wanda in annoyance. 

“You two! Spiderman and the Scarlett Witch powerful superheroes… scared of one woman who has no powers.…” Shuri laughed. 

Peter just stood up straighter, “You would be too, if you ever got on her bad side.”

“She’s a softy,” laughed Shuri with a shake of her hand. “I’ve seen the way she coddles you.” She leaned over and pinched Wanda’s cheek in jest. 

“She does not coddle me,” grimaced Wanda. She turned to Peter to help champion her cause but he just avoided her eye contact. “Peter! Back me up here,” stated Wanda again. 

Peter scratched at the back of his neck, “Well she does baby you a bit….”

“That’s for her own benefit not mine,” replied Wanda in annoyance. 

Shuri just cocked her head to the side, “Of course it is…” Wanda stiffened in anger, and Peter noticed the tell tale signs as her fingers started to glow a dull red. 

“Shouldn’t we head for dinner?” interrupted Peter trying to stifle the growing tension in the room. 

…………………………  
Natasha couldn’t help but notice how quiet Wanda was throughout dinner. She was never the most animated at meal times, but even for her she was subdued. Natasha knew better than to draw attention to it during the meal, rather storing it in her mind. She smiled as Steve attempted to eat the food that was clearly more exotic than he was used to. You can take the boy out of Brooklyn, she smirked at her own thoughts as Steve quickly downed another glass of water. Peter was talking and gesticulating widely with T’challa who was politely answering all his questions, as he pretended that Bucky did not exist next to him. Bucky was talking quietly with Steve who seemed to be nodding at him, clearly too distracted by the spice in the food to hold a decent conversation. She picked up her glass of wine and took a sip unable to keep the smile off her face. 

…………………………………………………………………………

Yelena perched over the edge of the building watching the cars and people on the street below. New York really was the city that never slept. 

“Does Nat know you have asked for my help?” asked the male voice behind her. 

Yelena scoffed she didn’t even bother to turn her head to face her companion, “What do you think??”

She played with a penknife in her hand, letting it move freely through her fingers, evidencing her prowess with such a weapon. 

“I don’t think she will want my help,” replied the voice. 

“She may not want it, but she will need it. We will need all the help we can get with the Hand,” replied Yelena. 

The man flinched, “Does Natasha know it’s the hand….”

Yelena shook her head, “I told her it’s the Redroom.”

The male stepped out of the shadows and approached the woman, “Natasha hates being lied to….”

“I didn’t lie… The Redroom is back… I just may have bent the truth about who was behind it,” stated Yelena. “We both know we need all the help we can get. She would have never let the witch be involved if she knew it was the Hand.” She carried on speaking looking to vindicate her actions to the man. She trailed off and spoke before he could interrupt her, “I’m not sure why I’m trying to justify myself to a Catholic, I’ll just say a couple of Hail Marys and be on my way.”

“That’s not quite how it works,” stated the man. 

“I’m sure that’s exactly how it works,” Yelena rolled her eyes, “You have got to be the only person on the planet with a guilt complex worse than Nat’s. Probably why you were the world’s worst couple.”

“So this witch, where do her powers come from?” asked the man again, trying to gloss over the comment about his previous romantic entanglements. 

“One of the infinity stones,” replied Yelena. “Strucker’s experiments I found all the paperwork. Nat was looking for it, I procured it.” Her Accent meant each phrase came out in staccato fashion. 

“I’m guessing you haven’t told Nat this either,” stated the male. 

Yelena glared at him, “I’m keeping my cards close to my chest. We need her. Wanda has power greater than either of them know. We can destroy the Hand with her.”

“I won’t lie to Natasha for you.”

“I’m not asking you to lie, I’m asking you to just stay quiet and keep a secret that is practically your speciality Matthew.”


	44. The Rome Statue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So more like 2 weeks rather than weekly... I am working on quicker updates. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy.

“So you are asking me to lie?” questioned Bucky crossing his arms to show his disdain towards the concept. 

Natasha ran her hand through her short red hair, as they both watched the sun drop under the mountains. Wakanda was truly beautiful to behold. Her bare feet moved in the sandy dirt as she drew circles with her toe. “I’m not asking you to lie, I’m asking you to skirt the truth…”

Bucky shook his head as he uncrossed his arms and leaned back onto his hands, “You are asking me to lie to your kid and your boyfriend. My best friend.” He added that the end trying to emphasis the gravity of what Natasha was requesting from him. 

“It’s more of an omission,” replied Natasha awkwardly, her own body language now mirroring Bucky’s former stance. Her arms folded tightly against her chest. 

“So to confirm, I’m not to tell Wanda I’m the one that shot you and I’m not to tell Steve that we have slept together….”

Natasha pinched her lips together in annoyance, “That last bit also applies to Wanda. My daughter does not need to know about my sex life.” 

“Keeping secrets Natasha. It never ends well. We have already seen the result of that happening once,” argued Bucky back, but he sat forward closing the gap between the two adults, but recrossed his arms tensely. 

“Bucky… James..” Natasha whispered, “Please. Do this for me…..This is me pulling my favour….”

Bucky huffed in annoyance, “Fine doll, but we are even now.” Natasha unclenched her arms and let the limbs fool loosely by her side, as the stress exited her body. She breathed out in relief and rested her hand on top of Bucky’s still clenched arms. “Thank you…”  
Bucky relaxed his arms down as well, “You are still a pain in my ass Romanova…”

Natasha smirked at him, “Of course I am.”

She bumped into him playfully, causing the winter soldier to laugh at her. 

Wanda watched the playfulness between the two adults as she approached the pair. She smiled at how at ease and relaxed Natasha seemed. 

“Hey…” she said causing the two adults to turn their heads. 

“Hey darling,” said Bucky gently making Wanda blush slightly. Natasha jabbed him with her elbow. 

Wanda regained her composure, “Hi Uncle James, can we talk?” She then looked pointedly to Natasha, “Alone.”

Natasha just stood up in resignation, “I get it, but not too long Wanda. Bedtime is in thirty Minutes.”

“Mama,” groaned Wanda. “You are embarrassing me…”

Natasha walked over and kissed Wanda’s cheek, “I don’t care, make sure you are back in your room in 30 minutes.”

“An hour,” countered Wanda.

“45 minutes,” replied Natasha, and held her hand up to halt Wanda when she went to interrupt, “quit while you are ahead.”

Wanda rolled her eyes playfully but still smiled at the older woman, “Fine.” Out of context Wanda’s response could seem petulant but her tone showed it was merely in jest. Natasha rubbed her arm, before leaving the two of them alone. Bucky patted the ground next to him, “Grab a seat Doll…”

Wanda approached and sat down on the sandy dirt and pulled her knees up to her chest. They both sat their silently for a few moments. Bucky realised he would need to start this conversation, “So what’s on your mind?”

Wanda took a deep breath, “Did you murder Tony’s parents?”

Bucky looked away from the young witch surprised by how quickly she went for the jugular. “Ok straight in then….There are two answers to this question…. Depends how you see the world.”

Wanda nodded slowly, she avoided eye contact with the man as well instead choosing to stare out at the view. “I’m beginning to realise things are not black and white. I grew up thinking that America was evil. That Stark was evil, that capitalism was evil. There is grey.”

“It has taken me a long time to come to terms with my actions over the last 50 years. I assassinated a lot of different targets. Men, Women and children,” stated Bucky. 

“Why did you do it?” asked Wanda innocently finally turning to face the man.

Bucky turned to Wanda, “Did you blame the bomb that killed your parents or the people that dropped it? Or the person who made it?”

Wanda looked taken aback as she was not expecting to be asked a question herself and stuttered in her answer, “I….Well….I blamed Stark… then I blamed the people who dropped it.. I didn’t really blame the weapon… It’s just metal…”

Bucky nodded in understanding, “I’m the bomb. I was the weapon, I may have pulled the trigger but I did not make the decision. Logically I know this. I still feel guilt though. It gnaws away at me…”

Wanda stared up into the sky lifting her head to see the barely lit stars in the early evening light. “In Sokovia there was men who committed heinous crimes. When the war tribunals occurred after the civil war they argued they only did it under duress. They had to rape those women or they would have been killed. Is that what happened with you? Were they going to kill you if you did not comply?” 

Bucky shook his head, “No, If that was the case. I would have accepted death. I was brainwashed, the scientists here have finally broken that hold. I’m free from control, and now I don’t really know what to do with myself.”

“I understand that,” replied Wanda. “I do wonder sometimes what my purpose is. Hydra told me I was going to help make the world a better place. No-one brainwashed me into hurting people.”

Bucky wrapped his metal arm around Wanda’s shoulder, “are you joking Doll? Of course you were brainwashed, just as I was and just as Natasha was.”

“Nat was brainwashed,” asked Wanda. “But she is so strong…”

“She grew up in the Redroom,” replied Bucky. “She was trained to be a killer…”

“You know about the Redroom?” questioned Wanda. “Can you tell me all about it?”

Bucky removed his arm from Wanda, “I’m not sure Natasha would like that Doll.”

“Is that where you met?” stated Wanda. When she got no immediate reply she knew it was true, “It is!”

Bucky sighed in annoyance, “I have no poker face.”

Wanda’s excitement dropped from her face, “but wait… I thought the Redroom was women only..”

“I was one of her trainers….” said Bucky reluctantly. 

“You can help us,” stated Wanda excitedly, “You said you needed a purpose….You can help us and Yelena…”

“Yelena,” repeated Bucky in shock. “You have met her??”

“Yeah, I’ve met Nat’s sister. She’s something,” replied Wanda awkwardly. 

“What does Yelena want?” asked Bucky suspiciously. “Your mother has a bit of a blind spot when it comes to her sister.”

“The Red-room is back. She needs our help to take it down,” stated Wanda matter of factly unaware the effect those words would have on the winter soldier. Bucky stood up abruptly anger coursing through his body. 

“Uncle James?? What’s wrong??” asked Wanda innocently. 

“Go get ready for bed. I need to speak to Natalia,” said Bucky with tight lips and a grimace. He sighed feeling guilty for snapping at the young witch. “Please doll….”

……………………………………………

“Really Natalia,” shouted Bucky as he burst into the bedroom that housed Steve and Natasha. 

“Bucky!” squealed Steve. Bucky rounded on Natasha who sat bemused at the dressing table, she was running the brush through her short hair, as she prepared for bed. 

Natasha turned with an arched eyebrow, “Yes American.” She responded in kind. 

Bucky cringed, “Don’t call me that.”

“I thought we were just reminiscing about the past,” she replied her tone equally unforgiving. “Would you rather I call you the Winter Soldier?”

Bucky stomped towards the woman pointing a finger angrily, “You weren’t going to tell me that the Redroom was back?!”

Steve stepped protectively in front of Natasha, causing Bucky to snort in amusement. “Steve she doesn’t need you to protect her. She can look after herself.”

“You would know. You trained me,” replied Natasha. An awkward silence fell over the room, the only sound coming from the heaving of Bucky’s chest as he tried to contain his unbridled rage. 

“Yelena is back,” stated Bucky firmly. 

Natasha quickly hid the surprise from her face, “The walls do have ears.”

“Your daughter is not as guarded and untrusting as you,” remarked Bucky spitefully. 

Natasha stood up and wrapped her satin dressing gown firmly around her body. She snapped at him, “I’m untrusting for a reason. We did not all have the luxury of having our mind wiped after every mission.”

“Luxury?? You dare call it a luxury. Having my brain shocked to the point I didn’t even remember my own damn name!” exploded Bucky. 

“Yes I do call it a damn luxury. You don’t have to remember all the screams of the children we killed. I would take that pain over hearing that every night,” yelled back Natasha angrily as she stepped forward aggressively into Bucky’s space.

“Nat,” interrupted Steve softly he nodded his head in the direction of the open doorway. Natasha turned with a start, and saw Wanda stood in the doorway. Her face instantly softened, “hey Malyshka why don’t you go get ready for bed. I’ll be in soon,” Natasha stated weakly. 

“What children did you kill?” asked Wanda going straight to the point. Natasha cringed at the young witch, and stared off into space her eyes glazed over. This was one of the occasions that Natasha bemoaned Wanda’s complete lack of tact.

“Not now Wanda,” stated Steve firmly. “Your Mama and Uncle need to talk.”

“No,” yelled Wanda. “I’m tired of her hiding everything from me. I deserve to know. I need to know. Would you rather I go blind into this cluster fuck?”

Wanda’s use of Profanity snapped Natasha out of her malaise, “Watch your language.”

“Alright Steve,” snarked back Wanda. Knowing it was normally Steve who moaned about her cursing. 

A sleepy Peter descended on the room wiping the tiredness from his eyes, “What’s going on?” he slurred slightly. The yelling had clearly woke him up. 

“Go back to sleep sweetheart,” said Natasha firmly but gently. Peter startled saw the multiple occupants in the room, “Why is everyone in here?”

Natasha looked pleadingly at Steve who understood her unspoken request. 

“Come on Kids, Let’s get everyone to bed,” spoke Steve. Peter turned obediently waiting for the super soldier to catch up with him, while Wanda just stood up straighter and stuck her chin out in dissent. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” was the stubborn response from the teenager. Natasha turned angrily towards the young witch, “for once Wanda do as you are God damn told.”

Peter whimpered, “please Wanda….”

Wanda flashed red and yelled, “You can all fuck yourselves!” She stormed out of the room. Natasha turned tiredly to Steve, “please can you make sure she goes back to her room and doesn’t leave the palace.”

Steve nodded, “Don’t worry the palace is locked down tight at night. I already checked with T’challa.”

Once the room had cleared and only Natasha and Bucky remained did someone finally speak. The room which had felt so small when it contained all those people now felt huge and the space between the two adults now seemed like a gulf. 

“I’m sorry Nat,” stated Bucky, he flexed his metal arm awkwardly, unsure what to do with his massive frame to seem less threatening. Bucky could never understand how Steve always came across so friendly despite all the muscles. He figured having all his original limbs probably helped. 

“I’m not sure why you are apologising,” replied Natasha honestly. “I didn’t tell you about the Redroom because it’s not the true Redroom. It’s not the KGB, it’s not Department X. It’s the same methodology new player.”

“I thought you and Yelena burned it all to the ground?” questioned Bucky. He took a seat on the bed, letting his shoulders roll forward to try and relax the tension in his body. “Surely there were no remnants left to rebuild.”

“You know how Hydra works,” bemoaned Natasha taking a seat next to him. “You have to scorch the earth to make sure nothing can ever grow back…”

Bucky nodded in understanding, “I want to come with you…”

Natasha cocked an eyebrow at him, “Are you are you are ready?”

“I need to do something positive, balance the ledger,” Bucky knew using Natasha’s own mentality would help persuade the woman to his side. 

“That’s a dirty trick American,” replied Natasha, though the name no longer held the same sting she had delivered it with previously. “You may need to work with Yelena…”

Bucky snorted, “I can handle your little sister. It’s your mother and father I would rather avoid.”

Natasha’s eyebrows rose at that, “You remember them?”

“I remember that month,” he replied warmly. The implication of those words hit Natasha hard. 

“When did that memory return?” she stuttered slightly at the gravity of the question, the air between them thick. 

“Only here in Wakanda,” stated Bucky. “You don’t need to worry I know it’s the past and you are with Steve now. The memory of you however faint is what helped keep me sane.”

“We had fun,” joked Natasha, uncomfortable with the emotional weight of the conversation. 

“It was never just sex Natalia. You made me into a person,” said Bucky. 

“You give me too much credit,” replied Natasha. 

Bucky shook his head wrapping her into a hug as she continued to speak, “I wish I had never left you…”

“You had no choice,” stated Bucky. “It would have been a disaster if we had both been captured by Hydra.”

“I tried to rescue you,” said Natasha. “but I kept failing…”

“It has all worked out now,” reassured Bucky. 

“Yeah, I guess it has,” agreed Natasha weakly. She wiped her face on his chest, before stepping away. “You know Laura was so pissed at me that I disappeared for that long….”

Bucky rolled his eyes, “that doesn’t surprise me now I’ve met her doll.”

“I was an adult agent on a mission,” said Natasha belligerently. 

“Mission? Is that the codeword you use for having sex around Europe for a month?” Bucky joked in response. 

“Look at you thawing out a bit,” muttered Natasha. 

“You obviously have a type. Frozen super soldiers,” said Bucky in amusement.


	45. Luminous Introspection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I hope you all enjoy the update! Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Natasha didn’t even bother to knock she just pushed open the door and barged into the room.

“Get out,” stated Wanda from her position laying on the bed. She hadn’t even turned to face the woman, choosing instead to stare at the wall of the room. 

“You may want to remember who you are speaking to and adjust your tone accordingly,” replied Natasha firmly. 

“I know to whom I’m speaking to,” stated Wanda haughtily. “So can you please depart my room immediately.”

Natasha just shook her head and went and sat next to Wanda on the bed. She placed a tentative hand on Wanda’s shoulder who quickly shrugged her off.

“Wanda, sit up please,” said Natasha. 

Wanda groaned but sat up putting her back against the headboard. “Thank you,” said Natasha warmly. 

“You have got to start controlling your temper,” chastised Natasha.

Wanda snorted, “That’s rich coming from you…”

“Do as I say not as I do,” replied Natasha quickly. 

“How is that fair you hypocrite??” spat out Wanda. 

“Wanda calm down,” stated Natasha firmly as she monitored the spirals of red starting to emanate from the teenager. 

Wanda turned away from the older woman, “Can you just leave.”

“I thought you wanted answers,” replied Natasha. 

That response instantly quirked her interest, Wanda sat up and turned to the spy. “You actually going to give me any?” questioned the teenager. 

“How will you know if you don’t ask them?” 

That response seemed to take Wanda by surprise who struggled to find the words. Natasha took that moment to continue speaking, “Not sure what you want now are you?”

“No,” quickly replied the witch in annoyance. Natasha laughed slightly, “Malyshka, I don’t think you even know what you want to know….”

“I know you are always lying to me,” stated Wanda petulantly. 

“No I’m not,” stated Natasha firmly. “There are things you don’t need to know about.”

“Like what?” asked Wanda. 

Natasha smirked at her, “let’s try this the other way around. What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” replied Wanda quickly. Natasha gently starting running her fingers through Wanda’s hair, “So you want me to tell you about the thing that Steve does with his tongue that is oh so satisfying….”

“God no,” said Wanda in disgust.

“That’s what I thought,” said Natasha in slight amusement. “Look if there is something you need to know you can come and talk to me about. It doesn’t always have to be some big dramatic standoff surrounded by our friends and family.”

Wanda turned her face into Natasha’s shoulder, upset by the slight rebuke. “But what if I don’t know what I’m supposed to ask?”

“Then maybe you don’t really need to know,” replied Natasha knowingly. Wanda sighed in response, “I’m sorry I swore at you….” 

“I know you are Malyshka, but I’m starting to lose my patience with your attitude and bad temper though. Next time we won’t be having a nice chat,” Natasha finished her statement off with a knowing raise of her eyebrow and a pointed glare. “I’m trying to treat you more like the young adult you are but you are making it quite difficult.” 

Wanda’s head dropped at the reprimand, as she felt the red rise to her cheeks as she blushed in shame. Natasha quickly placed a gentle hand under her kid’s chin and tilted it back up to look at her. “Don’t get stuck in your head Wanda, now is not the time to be quiet and clam up. You had no problem running your mouth to Bucky earlier,” Natasha finished the statement with a playful lilt, hoping to snap the teenager out of her malaise. 

“I guess I was just excited to be included,” murmured Wanda. Natasha sighed and pulled the girl’s head towards her body and rested her chin on the crown of Wanda’s head. 

“That’s partially my fault, but from now on. You mustn’t speak to anyone about it. Only me.”

“Even Dad? or Bucky? or Yelena?”

“None,” replied Natasha firmly. “The walls have ears Wanda. This is a dangerous mission. I need you to understand this isn’t one of those missions where if you mess up you get captured and then we all ride in on a white horse to rescue you. These people execute. They don’t take prisoners. You have to follow my every order.” Wanda’s arm was starting to throb slightly from the tight grip Natasha had on her arm, and for the first time Wanda truly saw into Natasha’s eyes. The usually guarded woman was barely containing the fear. Wanda stared in wonderment at the older woman. 

“I’ll listen Mama,” stated Wanda simply choosing to not comment and make Natasha uncomfortable. She just snuggled into the older woman and took a deep breath against the skin of Natasha’s neck. The faint scent of her perfume tickled her throat in a comforting way. 

“Will you still hold me like this when I’m older?” asked Wanda.

Natasha just laughed, “I will always hold you like this. You have wormed your way in Wanda.”  
Wanda just giggled in response, “You make me sound like a parasite.”

“All children are parasites,” replied Natasha knowingly. Wanda gave her an aggrieved look. 

“Hey….”

Natasha placed another kiss to the teenager’s head, “now you need to get into bed.”

Wanda sighed but started to crawl out of her mother’s arms, and wasn’t surprised when she was hurried on her way by two gentle pats to her backside. 

Natasha slowly walked down the hallway back towards her room. Her thoughts were still bothering her and she knew sleep would not come easy for her this evening. She didn’t think it would be possible to get so attached to another human being. Natasha was compromised in a way she struggled to comprehend. As she approached the closed door of her room, she knew she wasn’t ready. Natasha breezed past it and opened the end door and let the night air hit her as she walked onto the balcony. It was cool and refreshing on her skin, as she opened her eyes wider to take in the slight glitter of the stone walls in the moonlight. Natasha kicked her slippers off and walked barefoot across the floor. 

The cold of the floor was comforting and grounding. You could take the girl out of Russia, but she still on a level enjoyed the cold more than the heat. A faint breeze kicked up blowing her hair lightly around her face, whipping her cheeks gently. Natasha inhaled deeply starting to feel her mind slow down. She hoped up onto the edge of the balcony, and closed her eyes. Natasha centred herself and slowly lifted one leg up balancing precariously close to the edge. The wind whipped faster around her in this position, she took another deep breath and focused on her core to ground her. Natasha listened to her own heart beat, trying to catch the gaps between the beats, it had the desired effect as it slowed it down as she relaxed into her stance. The hairs on her arm prickled as she sensed another presence, she flipped down onto the balcony floor and her eyes flew open. She stared into the eyes of a sheepish looking Wanda. 

“What were you doing?” 

Natasha shook her head, “What are you doing out of bed?”

“I couldn’t sleep…”

Natasha snorted, “I only left you 5 minutes ago…”

Wanda looked at her confused, “It’s 3am Mama.”

Natasha looked down at her watch, “I guess I was out here longer than I thought.” 

“What were you doing?” repeated Wanda, her arms hung loosely by her side. Natasha noticed she had no goosebumps on her arms despite the chill in the air. She smiled to herself celebrating the toughness of Eastern European women. 

“Meditating,” replied Natasha. “It helps me…”

“Can you teach me?” asked Wanda as she stepped towards the woman. Natasha looked thoughtful for a moment. 

“That’s actually not a bad idea,” stated Natasha. “Wait here…”

Wanda watched as Natasha disappeared back down the hallway. She stood there briefly unsure what to do with herself in that moment. Natasha returned quickly though carrying a blanket which she laid down on the cold stone. 

“Sit,” she stated firmly to Wanda. 

“Do I need to sit crosslegged?”

Natasha shook her head, “No, you just need to be comfortable.”

Wanda dropped onto her knee and sat back on her heels, fidgeting slightly to get into the right position. Natasha waiting patiently for her be still, she turned her hands palm facing up in front of the witch. “I want you find my pulse, and listen to my heartbeat.”

Wanda gently took the offered palm tracing her fingers up the hand, finally resting them on her wrist. Natasha watched as she struggled to find it pushing down firmly in several places, before Natasha finally stepped in and guided her hand with hers. 

“Can you feel it?”

Wanda nodded as she felt the thrum underneath her fingertips. “I want you to close your eyes and focus on that feeling. Get lost in. Don’t worry I have got you.”

Natasha tightened her grip on Wanda’s wrists to create a grounded feeling. Wanda relaxed into the grip and let her mind focus on the continuous beating. 

“I need you to breathe Wanda,” Natasha’s voice made Wanda’s eyes open in alarm, when she realised she had forgot to breathe. 

“It’s ok,” cajoled Natasha gently. “Just count to three in your mind, inhale for 3 seconds and exhale for 3 seconds.” Wanda closed her eyes again and followed the instructions.

Wanda was starting to float slightly as her mind eased, Natasha watched as the red tendrils gently poured off her body emanating the white stone with a red glow. Natasha smiled as the witch slowly levitated slightly off the ground, though Natasha maintained her grip to keep her grounded to the earth. Wanda’s skin was starting to tingle as she relaxed further into her mind, her chest expanding as she gulped down the air around. She could feel the air on her cheeks. Her empty thoughts were interrupted when she felt Natasha starting to rub her hands gently, “Wanda…”

Wanda opened her eyes and was shocked when she was no longer level with Natasha and dropped to the floor in shock. “Mama,” she moaned.   
“Sorry baby but you had been in for a while,” said Natasha knowingly as she pulled the teenager onto her lap. 

Wanda looked down at Natasha’s wrist and was shocked that an hour had passed. 

“How do you feel?”

“I feel good,” replied Wanda slowly. “I would like to do that again.”

Natasha nodded , “that I can do.”

“I don’t think I have ever felt so calm, serene almost,” stated Wanda in wonderment. 

“I’m glad it helped,” said Natasha warmly, as she reached down to the edges of the blanket on the floor and wrapped it around the pair of them. “Now we should watch the sunrise.”

Wanda relaxed against Natasha’s chest, and felt soothed by the beating of her heart. Natasha instinctively wrapped her arms around the teenager. 

“Why do I find your heartbeat so comforting?”

Natasha pondered her thoughts for a moment, “I think it’s a reminder that we are all still here, and it’s that one muscle working without a break till the end.”

Wanda shook her head, “No it’s not the same when I hug Steve.”

Natasha just hugged the girl the fraction tighter, “that’s because I’m your mother.”

Wanda looked conflicted for the briefest of seconds, but Natasha caught the slight change in body posture that gave it away. 

“What’s wrong Wanda?”

“I mean… You aren’t my mother though…” Wanda nervously pulled away from Natasha’s hold. “I mean you are a great mother… but….”

Natasha gently manoeuvred the girl back into her chest. “I never want to replace your parents Wanda.”

“Do you think they would be angry with me?” asked Wanda innocently. 

“Why would they be angry?” questioned Natasha trying to gauge where Wanda’s thoughts were currently heading. 

“For replacing them,” whispered Wanda. 

“I think they would be happy that you are safe and loved,” stated Natasha firmly. “You know you don’t have to call me Mama. I am happy being Nat. I just don’t want you to call me Mama, and then Nat when you are angry at me.”  
“I like calling you Mama,” was the soft reply. “I think I know why I want to know everything about you.”

“Why’s that?” asked Natasha genuinely curious to hear the teenager’s ruminations. 

“Hope. You give me hope. I may not know a lot, but I know you had a difficult life. You are strong, powerful, an Avenger. People look up to you. They respect you. One day I hope I will stop being this massive screw up and be someone you can be proud of.”

“I’m already proud of you Wanda. You underestimate yourself so much. You have progressed so much from that 15 year old we picked up in Sokovia. It’s a marathon not a sprint,” said Natasha. “If you ever want to talk about anything. Any time, any day, even the early hours of the morning,” she finished that with a sly smile, as Wanda looked out at the sun slowly rising over the mountains. 

“I know Mama.”

………………………………………………………………..

Steve scowled at the woman in front of him, who was stretching her arms. 

“So Bucky can go but not me….” 

Natasha sighed but didn’t stop her stretching, “You know you need to stay and keep Ross happy. You are the face of it all.”

Steve crossed his arms against his chest and the veins in his neck tensed. “I can do that remotely…”

Natasha stopped stretching and finally turned to the solider, “No, you can’t…We both know that…”

Natasha grimaced as she felt the kink in her neck, “I’m getting old.”

Steve just shook his head, “Or maybe you are just too old to be sleeping on stone outside with just a blanket.”

“You may have a point there,” replied Natasha. For the first time, she actually felt old. She had always recovered quickly from injuries and was rarely tired. Maybe this was her body telling her to slow down. A reminder she was only human. She had fallen asleep with Wanda in arms and was only roused at about 7am when Steve had gone to look for the pair of them. 

Natasha gracefully walked over to her boyfriend, “Steve… We both know you can’t come along for this. If we need you, you know I will call. Our situation is delicate at the moment, we both know Ross is waiting to pounce on any mistake we make. I need you to do this for Wanda.”

“That’s playing dirty Romanoff,” glowered Steve. “You will check in?”

“As often as I can on the secure line,” stated Natasha, unwilling to commit to daily updates. “We have the rest of the day together. Let's just enjoy it before you head back to New York with Peter. T’challa seems to have a fun day planned out.”

Steve grimaced, “Last time he had a ‘fun day’ planned out we ended up sparring all day.”

“Now who is getting old Cap?” teased Natasha, as she leant forward and captured his lips gently, barely brushing them, before Steve pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. 

“Shut it Romanoff,” he finally whispered when he pulled away from the redhead. 

…………………………………………………………………………………….

Yelena sat back at the cafe in Berlin, sipping playfully at the coffee in front of her. 

“Can you wipe that smirk off your face?”

Yelena just laughed, “How can you even tell I’m smirking when you are blind?”

Matt Murdock just deepened his frown.

“You are going to get wrinkles you know? You are always so serious Matthew. Lighten up.”

Matt turned abruptly to the younger woman, “Do you need a reminder of who we are up against. We must be constantly vigilant, alert to danger.”

Yelena scoffed, “You are as bad as Natasha. Always worrying over every little thing, like I’m not a world renowned assassin and spy.”

Matt arched an eyebrow at her, “How many times have I had to rescue you?”

Yelena snorted, “3, but who is counting? Unless you are counting the amount of times I have to play nurse because you get sliced up in every fight. At least you have that fancy suit now, though they do say Black is more slimming.”

Matt rolled his eyes at the woman, “What time are we meeting Romanoff?”

“They are on the way to Berlin as we speak, we are meeting at one of our safe-houses in the east,” replied Yelena. She threw some Euro Notes onto the table and stood up. “Come on Murdock let’s run, or more accurately walk slowly with you tapping your blind stick.”

“Remind me again why I’m friends with you?” 

“Because you secretly still want to bang my sister?”

…………………………………….  
Wanda felt nervous as T’challa dropped them off at Berlin airport. It didn’t feel real, not even when she was sadly saying goodbye to Peter and Steve. She glanced over at Natasha who was dressed casually in jeans and a leather coat. It was important they were able to blend into the crowd. Natasha had drilled into her head the entire plane ride here that it was a covert mission which means no drawing attention to herself and behaving like a “normal family.” Even Bucky was wearing a pair of gloves and long sleeves to cover up any signs of his Vibranium arm. Wanda had been stripped of her dark makeup she preferred to wear as it gave her a more youthful look. Families always drew less attention than groups of adults. 

Wanda picked at her nail beds trying to distract herself from that awkward feeling in her stomach, that seemed to now be rising to her chest. Natasha approached her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “You ok Malyshka?”

“Yeah,” replied Wanda with a false bravado in her voice. Natasha wrapped her arm around her and started guiding her our of the airport as Bucky pushed the cart that held all the bags. 

Wanda was exhausted by the time they arrived at the safe house, they had zigzagged across the city using multiple transportation types. They had travelled longer in Berlin than the trip from Wakanda had taken. Wanda finally understood the paranoid jokes that Clint would constantly make at Natasha’s expense. She trudged up the stairs dragging her bag listlessly behind her. Natasha halted at the door, and tapped 5 times on the wooden barrier, and only entered when she heard the 5 knocks back. 

Wanda’s eyes struggled to react to the sudden light as she entered the small hallway of the apartment. She stumbled slightly and would have fell had it not been for Natasha’s quick reactions. 

Yelena scoffed at them, “Is the baby one tired?”

Wanda glared at the woman, “Not too tired to kick your ass.”

“Enough,” commanded Natasha. “I hope you have got tea Yelena.”

“I’ve got better than tea,” replied Yelena with a smug grin.

“Hey Nat,” came a voice from the other side of the hallway, and Natasha dropped her bag in shock.

“Matt?”


	46. Back with the Ex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay my laptop died...... so I had to purchase a new one, which was prohibitively expensive and ergo soul destroying when it came to creativity and the desire to write. 
> 
> Please enjoy this chapter, as usual I appreciate any feedback.

Natasha glared at Yelena, as she sat opposite her at the tiny table in the small apartment. “So too summarise, I’m now sharing a two bedroom flat with my daughter, my sister and two of my ex boyfriends….”

“Well I only thought it would be one ex boyfriend in my defence,” replied Yelena matter of factly. 

“Yelena,” snapped Natasha dropping her cup of tea harshly onto the table. 

“Look we need all the help we can get. Matt won’t mind the sofa, I can share with the Winter Soldier, and you can share with Wanda,” Yelena stated. 

“Do not sleep with him Yelena,” muttered Natasha.

“Like I would want your sloppy seconds anyway Natalia,” joked Yelena.

“Can you be serious please for once in your life!”

“Fine Nat, Look we are only going to be here for a week or so, and then we can meet Mother.”

“Yeah, because this won’t be awkward at all going to see our parents with my two ex boyfriends while my current boyfriend is in America. She is going to think I’m running a harem,” groaned Natasha. 

“Oh come on Nat, Mother has always known you enjoyed an active sex life,” said Yelena as she took a cocky sip of her own tea. 

“I would rather not talk about my sex life, knowing my luck that would be the moment Wanda returns with the boys and the food,” moaned Natasha with a sigh. 

“I’m pretty sure she knows you have sex,” replied Yelena knowingly. 

“Please do me a favour Yelena, sex is an awkward topic for Wanda. I know you are a fan of the innuendo and making jokes but please don’t in front of her,” asked Natasha.

Yelena’s smile dropped from her face and was replaced with barely subdued anger, “What happened to the little mouse? Did someone hurt her?” 

“I knew you cared about your niece really, despite all your posturing,” said Natasha with a warm content smile. 

“Of course I do, she is your kid… Now who do I need to castrate and kill?”

“Yelena,” the disapproval evidenced by the way Natasha drew the name out. “I appreciate the offer but it’s unnecessary. I also need your discretion on the topic, do not approach her about it.”

“Ok Nat, I will try and reign it in a bit,” said Yelena softly. “But it is like asking me to not breathe.”

Natasha rolled her eyes at the younger woman, but was interrupted before she could answer by the front door opening. Bucky carried and dropped the box full of Chinese food on the small table. 

Natasha looked at him in alarm, “Where’s Wanda?”

“She’s just coming up with her new best friend,” snarked Bucky obviously slightly jealous of how quickly the witch had bonded with the blind lawyer. 

Natasha then heard hushed talking and laughing as the two of them walked into the kitchen. Wanda rushed over to Natasha, “Matt was just telling me about the time you both had to hide from the nuns…..”

“I don’t think a trip down memory lane is appropriate right now,” cut in Natasha as she levelled a glare at the lawyer. 

Matt held his hands up in mock surrender, “Apologies Natty.”

Yelena laughed from her seat, “Natty and Matty, why did I not realise this before now…”

“I think we should all eat, sleep and then we can start planning tomorrow,” said Natasha seriously.

“I want to hear more stories,” said Wanda happily as she started to open one of the boxes of noodles, and snapped open the chopsticks. Natasha grabbed a box and threw it at Matt who caught it easily. 

“No stories,” repeated Natasha firmly. Even though she knew Matt couldn’t see her glare, she knew he would hear it in the slight vibrations of her voice. 

“Maybe another night Wands,” conceded Matt. 

“Ok, but Mama, Matt said he will teach me how to fight blind,” stated Wanda as she choked down a noddle. 

“Will he now?” questioned Natasha. 

Bucky crossed him arms, “I did suggest to Matt that perhaps he should speak to you before suggesting it too Wanda.”

“Mama never says no to things related to training,” replied Wanda slurping happily on her noodles oblivious to the tension in the room.

“If we have time,” stated Natasha shortly. “We will be busy preparing for this mission, and you still have to keep on top of your school work.”

“School work??” moaned Wanda. “Surely I can skip it for a few months.”

Natasha just shook her head, “No chance.”

Yelena spoke up from her own food, “You going to eat anything American?”

Bucky scowled at her, “It’s Bucky now, not American, and not Winter Soldier…”

“Why would she call you either of those things?” asked Wanda curiously.   
Bucky turned to Natasha as if seeking permission and saw the subtle nod of approval. 

“When I was under the control of Department X and Hydra. I wasn’t given a name, they erased my mind and my identity. I was only known as the Winter Soldier or the American,” said Bucky awkwardly. 

Wanda just nodded in understanding, “We were just always called the twins. Never Wanda or Pietro just the twins. As if we were just half of a whole, not individuals….”

Wanda stopped speaking as her thoughts overtook her mind. Pietro would always be a painful part of her history. Bucky gave her a weak smile, “I understand.” He awkwardly then raised his hand and rested it on Wanda’s shoulder who smiled at him in return. Natasha looked on happy that Bucky was finally opening up to someone, and Wanda had someone she could share experiences and converse with. Once they had finished eating, Natasha turned to Wanda, “I need you to go get ready for bed.”

Wanda scrunched her nose up in annoyance, “Don’t send me to bed in front of everyone. I’m having fun.”

“Wanda,” replied Natasha her tone conveying her feelings. “We had a long day of travelling, you are overtired. I need you to go wash up and go to bed.”

Wanda looked at Natasha for a split second debating her next action but Natasha spoke again before the teenager could voice her position.

“I don’t want you to think because of the current company; I would not punish you as I see fit.”

The veiled threat was enough to send Wanda crashing back to earth, speaking like a group of friends with the Assassin, spy and fighters had given her a false sense of equilibrium. Natasha had this way of making her feel like a competent young adult in one second and a chastised toddler the next. 

“Ok Mama,” said Wanda sadly. She approached Natasha and wrapped her arms around her neck and placed a kiss on her cheek, “Goodnight.”

She then awkwardly waved to the rest of the adults, “Goodnight.”

They all replicated the response apart from Yelena who couldn’t help but say, “Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite.” The derisory tone clearly got the teenager’s hackles up but she didn’t respond and was actually satisfied when Natasha slapped the other woman’s arm.

After Wanda exited the room, “Do you have to always try and wind my kid up?”

“Yeah I do, when she’s easier than you,” replied Yelena as she took a swig from her beer bottle. She then grimaced, “Such cheap imported American crap.”

“Then don’t drink it,” stated Matt obviously.

“Better than Water,” said Yelena casually. Natasha coughed in the direction of Matt, “I would appreciate it if you didn’t share stories with Wanda without checking them with me first.”

Matthew scoffed at her, “Oh come on Natty. I kept them PG-13 don’t you worry. She’s not a little kid. She’s a fighter like her mother.”

“Well I wish she wasn’t,” snapped Natasha.

“Well don’t we all, but this is the hand God dealt us,” said Matthew sharply. “At least I know you listened to some of the sisters back in the day. Hey Romanoff, spare the rod spoil the child?”

Natasha’s back instantly went up, “You got something to say to me Murdock?”

“You know what I’m saying, that little threat you aimed at Wanda? Did I misread it? Or do you beat her like some of the nuns beat me?”

“I do not beat my child,” said Natasha firmly. “Father Lantom stopped that when he found out as well. There is a big difference between what they did to you and the relationship I have with my daughter.”

Matt took a long swig of his beer, “Do you not remember how we met? When you ‘ran away’ from Laura?” He emphasised the words ‘ran away” with a hand gesture. 

“We were immature teenagers back then,” stated Natasha. “Look we are here to deal with the present threat not rehash our past history or have you question my parenting abilities. I do what is best for my daughter. You can either keep your mouth shut or go back to being alone and sulky in New York.”

“Ding Ding Ding, round one goes to defending champion Natasha Romanoff,” spoke up Yelena smirking from her seat. 

“Not helping Yelena,” said Bucky, who had kept quiet through the whole exchange.

“Why are you even here Matt?” asked Natasha in frustration. 

“I’m here because you need me. If we are dealing with a carbon copy of the Red-room then they know exactly how you three operate because they know how you were all trained. I am the unknown factor.”

Natasha stood up, “Fine, I’m going to check on Wanda.”

She stood up and slammed the door behind her, “That could have gone better Matthew.”

Matt just a deep cleansing breath, Yelena actually for once looked at him sympathetically, “I know children are your weakness. Wanda is not being abused I promise you. Natasha would protect her with her life.”

“She has all the signs,” replied Matt weakly. 

“She was 15 when Natasha adopted her, a lot happened in the 15 years prior. It’s not for us to pry into her life or how Natasha handles her,” explained Yelena.

“That’s strange I thought that was the reason we are here,” replied Matt pointedly. 

“What does that mean?” asked Bucky aggressively.

“It means nothing,” cut in Yelena sharply. “Matthew is just his usual sarcastic self aren’t you?”

Matt huffed but recognised the danger in Yelena’s tone, “Of course…. I’m just frustrated by it all.”

……………………………………………………………………..

Wanda woke up early the following morning. Natasha was snoring lightly next to her, she carefully pushed the duvet off, and tiptoed out of the room. She walked into the kitchen and noticed Matthew sitting crosslegged in the middle of the room, a sheen of sweat visible on his topless torso. 

“Good morning Wanda,” 

“How did you know it was me?” asked Wanda. “I didn’t say anything?”

“I smelt you,” replied Matt with a smile. 

Wanda looked at herself in alarm, “I showered last night!”

Matt laughed to himself, “I just have heightened senses. Don’t worry you smell nice, familiar.”

“Familiar?” questioned Wanda before she realised, “Ahh Mama…”

Matthew nodded before standing up with his stick gesturing towards the kitchen, “there is coffee ready.”

Wanda slowly wandered towards the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee before taking a seat at the bar. “You are up early?”

“I don’t sleep much,” replied Matt, “it’s difficult when you can hear someone coughing five storeys down.”

“Is that why you were meditating? I assume that’s what you were doing?” asked Wanda. 

Matt nodded, “Yeah, I like to do a a few push ups and sit ups in the morning then mediate.”

“Did my Mama teach you?” 

Matthew scoffed slightly, “No I taught her. Not that she will admit that…”

“Hardly,” interrupted Natasha as she entered the kitchen stretching. She quickly swiped the mug of coffee away from her daughter and took a swig. 

“Hey!”

Natasha just laughed and sent her back towards the coffee pot with a playful swat. Wanda faux grumbled but grabbed herself another cup. 

“I already had fantastic control before I met you,” stated Natasha. “Luckily I could already hold my breath for several minutes. If you remember correctly, as otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to rescue you from the bottom of the Hudson.”

Matt cocked an eyebrow at her, “I thought we weren’t going to take a trip down memory lane.”

“Well I have to when you insist on telling my daughter this revisionist bullshit,” replied Natasha. 

Wanda smirked into her coffee, “you do seem awfully defensive Mama…..”

Matt turned his head to hide his smirk, “So Mama bear am I ok to steal your kid for some training in the basement?”

Wanda looked at the woman hopefully, “please Mama?”

Natasha groaned, “Ok, but I want you back for lunch, as we need to plan….”

Matt smiled at the girl, “Go get ready Wands.”

Once the girl had departed she turned her attention firmly to the man, “Do not hurt her…”

“Like I would,” replied Matt. “You seem on edge Natty.”

“Of course I’m on edge, I’m chasing down the Redroom with my daughter, my sister and my two ex-boyfriends.”

“Is that all I am to you, an ex-boyfriend?” said Matt.

“Matty… You know I don’t mean it like that. I will always care for you, we just weren’t a very good couple. We could never put each other first,” said Natasha softly looking into his face. 

“You know I always hated that I could never tell if you were lying,” said Matt.

“I’m sure you actually found it refreshing. Meant someone could actually surprise you,” replied Natasha warmly. 

“I’ve missed you Natty, It’s been too long…”

“I know it has,” stated Natasha. “But we both needed space….”

“I regret not chasing after you…” said Matt earnestly. 

“Matt… We can’t do this. I have moved on. I’m happy.”

“Then why isn’t he here? I let you go once Natasha,” replied Matthew. 

“Am I interrupting something?” asked Yelena with a smile.

“Of course not,” said Natasha sharply. “Matthew is about to take Wanda for some training. You and I need to and do some Recon, while Bucky stays here. So Hurry up….”

……………………………………………………………

The sweat was pouring down Wanda’s face, as she tried to focus. Her eyes tightly shut as she felt her own heart beating in her chest. She felt the swoosh in the air too late as the wooden stick collided with her shoulder. Wanda grunted in pain , exhaling heavily.

“Concentrate Wanda, use your other senses do not just rely on your eyes,” explained Matthew quietly as he slowly crept around her. 

He twirled the stick in his hand before bringing it down sharply onto his intended target, but this time Wanda reacted and swerved to the side avoiding the strike. 

“Good, let’s take a break,” explained Matthew. Wanda opened her eyes in time to catch the bottle of water that was tossed at her. She opened the bottle and gulped down the cold liquid. 

“You are doing well kid,” stated Matthew. 

“Thanks,” replied Wanda in-between taking massive gulps. She rolled out her shoulders grimacing slightly. Matthew cringed a little bit, “Your shoulders ok?”

“Yeah I’m fine, they are a just a little sore,” said Wanda in assurance. 

“Good I would rather your mother didn’t try and kill me,” explained Matthew unnecessarily. 

“You have history,” replied Wanda knowingly. 

“A lot,” said Matthew. “But what’s your history? How did you end up with Nat?”

While Matt already knew the information he wanted to hear Wanda’s interpretation of the facts. 

“My story is a just a typical bad made for TV movie, Orphaned kid, dead family, experimented on…..”

“I’m not sure what made for TV movies you have been watching kid,” deadpanned Matthew.   
“Well now I’m an Avenger. I’m going to help people,” stated Wanda. “You know it’s like some story of redemption.”

“You think you need redeeming?” asked Matthew curiously. “Are you sure you are not a Catholic?”

“Apparently I’m Jewish,” said the Witch off-hand. 

“Do you really think chasing down Arms dealers and doing the bidding of the United Nations is helping people?” questioned Matthew curiously. 

“You don’t?” answered back Wanda.

“I protect people from real threats like the Hand,” replied Matt.

“What’s the Hand?” asked Wanda.

“The Hand are an ancient order who want to control the world. They have fingers in everything; organised crime as well corrupting powerful figures,” explained Matthew.

“It sounds a bit like an old wives tale, like the Illuminati or the Stonemasons,” scoffed Wanda.

“Don’t mock something you do not comprehend. They are powerful and dangerous. You have probably dealt with them without even realising,” stated Matthew firmly. “I’m sure you have experienced corrupt officials.”

Wanda paused for a moment as she absorbed Matthew’s words, whispering ‘Ross’ under her breath. 

“Anyway let’s crack on, before your mother drags you back for lunch and a nap,” joked Matthew, as he snatched the bottle of water playfully from her grasp.


	47. Ulterior motives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So .... it's a bit short. I have been struggling with inspiration. Any feedback is appreciated, it was a recent comment that actually encouraged this update. 
> 
> Any input is welcome, I hope you enjoy.

“Did she take the bait?” asked Yelena. She stood on top of the roof and watched the cars travelling down the main road of Tiergarten. 

“Yeah,” replied Matthew with his arms crossed tightly against his chest. “I don’t like this manipulation.”

“We are not manipulating,” she paused for a second before gesticulating wildly. “We are just guiding her. She is wasted that power in the Avengers. She can take down the Hand, help us take down men like Wilson Fisk. Natasha will never let her discover her true power. You have seen my research she only lets her develop her telekinesis which is just one side of her power. The mental manipulation, she could make Wilson Fisk admit all his crimes! She could delve into his mind, find every single criminal contact he has. The possibilities are endless,” said Yelena. 

“She is a child,” said Matthew. “I won’t use her. If she wants to help us…”

“We aren’t using her,” replied Yelena. “We are just trying to help her see her potential. Natasha will hold her back. She is too overprotective…”

“You do understand if Natasha realises what you are doing…” Matt let his sentence trail off. 

Yelena just scoffed, “Nat needs to remove the stick from her backside.”

Matt sighed, “could we not just try this differently? Tell Natasha…”

Yelena shook her head violently, “No, we can’t risk it. What if she says No? Then there are no other options….”

Matt winced but realised the truth in Yelena’s words. “I don’t like this…”

“You don’t like anything. Just say a couple of Hail Mary’s and be on your way,” replied Yelena mockingly. 

“Your catholic jokes are getting a bit tired Yelena,” muttered Matthew back. 

…………………………………………

Natasha poured over the paperwork in front of her. Her brain was struggling to make a correlation between all the bits of data. There was always a commonality something that brought them all together. She winced in frustration and glanced over to Bucky who was searching through a different box.

“Are we going about this all wrong?” asked Natasha.

Bucky turned to face the woman, “in what way?”

“I mean.. Maybe it’s not one big conspiracy maybe it’s just one man on a vendetta like Zemo,” replied Natasha. 

Bucky just shook his head, “There is more to this and you know it.”

“It just doesn’t feel like Hydra. It doesn’t match up. There are too many links to Asia,” she gestured towards the documents and maps. 

Bucky paused, “I agree. If Hydra was resurgent it would do so in the motherland. Where it already has roots, it would not try and grow in a new territory. Not unless it had help, and ally maybe?”

Natasha rubbed her temple, “it just doesn’t add up. I’m not going into this half cocked. We need to know what we are up against.”

Bucky nodded in agreement, “Do you think Yelena knows more than she is letting on?”  
“My sister always knows more than she is letting on,” said Natasha warily. “But I trust her.”

That comment was enough to know that Bucky should not pursue this line of questioning any further. He stood up stretching, his back aching from being hunched over and reading documents all morning. “When are we meeting up with Melina and Alexei?”

Natasha huffed, “I’ve been trying to put that one off. You know how they both get. I don’t want to overwhelm Wanda.”

Bucky arched his eyebrow at the woman, “Overwhelm Wanda? or Overwhelm yourself?”

“Stop,” cut in Natasha aggressively. 

“You can’t avoid them forever,” said Bucky knowingly. 

“I said Stop,” her tone deadly as she glared at the super solider. 

“Is everything ok?” asked Wanda sleepily from the door, “The shouting woke me up…”

Natasha glared at Bucky as if to blame him for waking her up, when really she was the one that had raised her voice. 

“Sorry Malyshka…” she opened her arms in invitation. Wanda trudged over shuffling her feet and stumbled yawning into Natasha’s lap. She sat down and grabbed one of the papers that was on the table. “What’s this?”

“Prep work,” answered Natasha plucking the paper from her hand gently. 

“Can I help?” asked Wanda. Natasha playfully tapped her nose. “Yes you can. ..Just not at Midnight…”

Wanda scrunched her nose up, “You are working at midnight…..”

“I’m also not a teenager who needs at least 10 hours of a sleep a night,” replied Natasha playfully. 

“Yeah you are an old woman who needs more,” was Wanda’s cheeky response. Wanda was honestly happy in this silly little flat in East Germany. For the first time she was surrounded by people who never treated her as something to be feared. They all encouraged her powers. Even the other Avengers had sometimes exchanged looks when they thought she couldn’t see them. She had never felt so in control of her powers. Wanda flicked her fingers towards the piece of paper that Natasha was holding and smirked at it floated with a red trail behind it into her waiting fingers. 

“That’s cheating,” chastised Natasha taking the piece of paper back and putting it on the stack on the table. “Now go back to bed,” stated Natasha firmly. When Wanda hesitated, Natasha just gently prodded her again, “Go on little one. I’ll be in shortly. I’m just waiting for your Aunt and Matt to get back from their patrol.”

Wanda stood up and paused for a moment. “Why is Yelena my aunt, and James my uncle but Matt is just Matt?…”

“Because Matt isn’t family,” replied Natasha firmly.

“Why is he not family? You don’t always get on with Tony or the other, and they are my aunts and uncles…”

“Matt is my past, and he’s a vigilante, not an avenger.”

“So what? To be my Aunt or Uncle you have to be a member of the Avengers?” snapped back Wanda in annoyance. 

Natasha pursed her lips, “Wanda that’s enough. We are working with Matt that is all. He’s a work colleague as far as you are concerned. If you are getting too attached then maybe you need some space from him.”

“Matt isn’t a work colleague. He is my friend. He actually treats me like a person,” shouted Wanda. Natasha stood up in response and smacked her hand down hard on the table sending the papers flying around the room. 

“Go to our room now,” she muttered tightly through her lips. Wanda crossed her arms in annoyance, “No I’m waiting for Matt and Yelena. I don’t want to stay with you tonight.”

“It’s not an option,” replied Natasha tiredly. “The sleeping arrangements are set, and Matt sleeps on the sofa.” 

“Well maybe you should stay on the sofa with him. I don’t want to see you,” snarked back Wanda as she left slamming the kitchen door behind her. 

Bucky stood up and started collecting up all the loose pieces of paper. “Teenagers?” He questioned lightly to break the tension. 

Natasha sighed, “will Matt Murdock ever stop being a pain in my ass….”

“What have I done now Romanoff?” joked Matt as he walked into the kitchen. He surveyed the room in surprise, “Did we decide that the papers were better suited for the floor rather than the desk?”

Natasha scoffed at him, “How can you even tell?”

Matt narrowed his eyes slightly. “I think we have established at this point that I am blind why you and your sister feel the need to mention it every 5 minutes I don’t know.” 

“Look we are all exhausted let’s call it a night,” said Natasha in defeat. Matt turned to go to the living room. “Matt…” Natasha called out weakly. Matt swivelled on the spot to face the woman. “Can you pull out the sofa tonight? I think I’m going to be crashing with you tonight…”

Matt’s eyebrows shot up, so Natasha felt the need to explain before he got the wrong idea. “My daughter has kicked me out of the bedroom.”

Yelena finally spoke up from behind Matt, “A sentence that has never been uttered before.”

“Not now Yelena,” replied Natasha sharply. 

“Come on Natasha. What has got the little witch all wound up?”

“That’s not your concern,” stated Natasha in annoyance. 

“It is our concern,’ said Yelena back in anger. “We need you both focused not playing out some bad family sitcom.”

“My daughter is my business not yours. I’m tired of you all judging me!”

“Natty… She didn’t mean that,” cut in Matt. “We just want to help. We aren’t judging you…”

“You were definitely judging me,” replied Natasha. 

“Let’s just draw a line and move on then. No judgements, no preconceptions. Let’s take the Red-room down and then we can all go home,” explained Matt. 

“Yeah…”

………………………………………………..

Natasha turned restlessly on the sofa. She couldn’t get comfortable, as sofa beds weren’t usually the best but this one really wasn’t that bad. Natasha pulled the duvet sheet up and over her her shoulders as she tried snuggle down. 

“Can’t sleep?” asked Matt in the silence. Natasha huffed, “Do you ever?”

“You know I can’t sleep with you fidgeting like the energiser bunny,” replied Matt. 

“I remember,” said Natasha quietly. “Can you promise me something?”

“What’s that?” asked Matt sitting up slightly. 

“Protect Wanda. Whatever happens now, or in the future. Protect her, if you ever cared for me..”

“I will protect her Natty. I can see why you have gotten attached,” Matt just stared up at the ceiling. “She is so much like you. It’s uncanny.”

“You think so?” asked Natasha.

“I know so,” said Matt firmly. “If I didn’t any better I would say you gave birth to her. She has your mannerisms, your temper and your compassionate nature.” Matt paused his speech before sighing heavily, “Why did we never work?”

Natasha rubbed her forehead languidly. “We both had too much baggage…”

“Baggage…” Matt parroted.

“Don’t give me that. We both had our own ideas and ways of doing things that just didn’t coincide with each other.”

“That’s a very diplomatic answer Natasha,” replied Matt scornfully. 

“Don’t start. You are the one who handed out the ultimatum!”

“I expected you to choose me!” Stated Matt in anger. “I thought you loved me.”

“I will always love you, but sometimes it’s not enough Matt,” said Natasha. She turned her head away from the man, when she felt the beginning of a tear forming in her eye. She shook it in annoyance as if to shake it back into her tear duct. Natasha Romanoff didn’t cry. “Anyway… now you are sniffing around my 16 year old daughter.”

Matt looked at Natasha in shock grabbing her arm and yanking her, “I would never touch her.” He spat out.

Natasha pulled her arm back, “I’m sorry Matt. I didn’t mean that.”

“Typical Natty lashing out at the first instant of someone seeing your exposed soft underbelly,” replied Matt. 

“You don’t get to see any part of me anymore,” said Natasha, almost emphasising her point by pulling the duvet up over her shoulders shielding any part of her from his view. 

“Natty….. Can we stop fighting please….” Muttered Matt quietly. Natasha exhaled heavily in response but released the tension she was holding in her body. Matt reached out tentatively and stroked her cheek gently. Natasha found her cheek moving towards his hand instinctively, as she enjoyed the contact. 

“I’ve missed you so much,” whispered Matt. He leaned in towards her face, though the moment got interrupted by a voice coming through the hallway. “Mama…”

Natasha regained her sense quickly and pulled away from the man, jumping up to answer the call. 

“Wanda?”

“Mama I need you….” 

Natasha quickly stood up and without saying another word to Matt left the sofa and went to her daughter.


	48. You and Me equals History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok it's short, but I've been struggling with inspiration. Working full time from home is also particularly draining. I hope you all enjoy. Please comment and let me know what you think.

Natasha breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the bedroom door behind her. Was she really going to kiss him? Shame filled her core, she knew she had not actually done anything wrong. Thinking about something wasn’t a crime. It reminded of her something Yelena always used to say, when you go to a restaurant you look at all the menu but you only order one thing. Steve was her boyfriend. 

Natasha quickly turned her attention to Wanda who had returned to the bed and was curled up on the edge in the foetal position. “You ok Wanda?”

Wanda just nodded, though the gesture was barely discernible as she was cocooned in the duvet. Natasha just smiled and got into the bed, and wasn’t surprised when the teenager curled into her body. “Missed me?”

Wanda just grunted in response, which caused Natasha to chuckle under her breath. 

“Do you ever wonder how different our lives would be if you hadn’t found out my age?”

Natasha snorted, “I was always going to find that out.”

Wanda turned to face Natasha. “What makes you so sure?”

“Because I was looking into your background long before you told Clint,” explained Natasha.

“Creep,” joked Wanda. She turned back around pulling Natasha’s arm with her so she was once again wrapped up in the older woman. 

“What else did you find out?” Asked Wanda finally. 

“Just a few things I thought you would like to know about your family,” stated Natasha quietly. 

Wanda shrugged and relaxed backwards into Natasha’s grip, “You are my family.”  
“I meant your birth family,” replied Natasha. “You are of Jewish descent.”

“I don’t really know what that means,” said Wanda, “should I feel a certain way about it?”

Natasha shook her head, “It’s up to you. It’s your heritage should you wish to explore it later. I won’t pressure your either way, but I thought one day you would want to find out.”

Wanda sighed, “Sometimes I struggle to remember my parents. I know my mother always smelt the same, but I couldn’t tell you what it was. I’m not even sure I would recognise it now. I should remember I was ten when they died. It’s not that long ago….”

Natasha ran her fingers through Wanda’s hair, but allowed the teen to keep talking, “Is having you making me forget them?”

“I won’t let you forget them,” replied Natasha firmly. “We can talk about them whenever you want. You know I love to hear stories from when you were younger.”

“I turn 17 soon,” said Wanda changing the subject abruptly. “Do you think we will still be in Germany?”

Natasha decided to just go with the subject change, “We will probably be in Russia for your birthday.”

“Will I be allowed some vodka to celebrate?” 

Natasha laughed, “No chance. You can have a glass of cider or wine, but no vodka.”

“I bet Aunt Yelena will let me have some vodka…..”

“Ha… She knows better,” replied Natasha. “Now close your eyes, and go to sleep….”

…………………………………………………………

“We need to move,” said Yelena firmly. Natasha sighed in annoyance rubbing her temple, choosing not to respond to the blonde. 

“Natalia,” Yelena barked pinching her arm sharply. 

“Yelena,” reprimanded Natasha, “You aren’t too old you know….”

Yelena just rolled her eyes at her older sister, “now you sound like mother…Speaking of which we were supposed to go meet them days ago. When did you become such a pussy?”

Natasha rolled her eyes at her sibling, “you are lucky I tolerate you.”

Yelena huffed, “you don’t tolerate me, you love me.”

“God knows why,” muttered Natasha. 

“Well I was the only you didn’t kill,” remarked Yelena her teasing tone reducing the severity of the words. 

Natasha rubbed her temples some more trying to work out if Yelena was the cause of her headache or merely exacerbating the issue, “do you ever turn it off?”

Yelena flopped down dramatically on the sofa and put her feet up onto Natasha’s lap, stretching her legs out and wiggling her toes for emphasis. “Seriously Nat we need to leave. We have been here too long.”

Natasha exhaled heavily trying to carefully chose her words, “I know. It’s just complicated…”

“Mother and Father aren’t mad you know,” interrupted Yelena softly her voice containing none of her usual zeal. Natasha huffed in response, “yeah they are just disappointed.”

“They are not disappointed either. If anything they are annoyingly proud of their eldest,” replied Yelena affectionately. 

“I abandoned you all,” whispered Natasha refusing to look at Yelena. Looking at the white wall of the apartment focusing on the parts where the drywall was cracked. 

“I thought you were over this,” stated Yelena gently. “I thought Matt was the only one who insisted on self-flagellation, and the tortured soul. You escaped Natasha, now we are all free. We have met other people but we will always have each other.”

Yelena removed her legs from Natasha’s lap and leaned over and rested her head on Natasha’s shoulder. She carefully wrapped her arm around her older sister. 

“Since when have you been this sentimental?” Joked Natasha but she smiled at the comfort her usually stoic sister was offering.

“Anyone you tell I’ll just kill,” explained Yelena in her usual matter of fact demeanour. She stood up stretching, “now enough of this emotional bullshit. I’m going to need a drink and a shower after this.”

“Yelena?” Asked Natasha finally interrupting her sibling’s diatribe. 

She turned back to face Natasha, “Thank you, and arrange the extraction.”

Yelena nodded, “of course, and you are welcome.”

………………….

Natasha stared at her phone, her finger hovering awkwardly over the button. She couldn’t bring herself to press the button. She sighed awkwardly to herself, and then she felt a chin resting on her shoulder. 

“Are you calling Steve?” Came the excited tone. 

“Yeah,” replied Natasha weakly. 

“Can we video call? I want to see his face,” said Wanda. 

Natasah shook her head, “That would require a wifi connection. We have to stay covert Wanda.” 

Wanda deflated slightly, “Oh..”

“But you should talk to him now. We won’t be able to speak to him when we are in Russia.”

Wanda grabbed the phone and quickly dialled the number with no hesitation, and greeted him. 

“Steve!”

………………………………………….

Steve hung up the phone. He felt an unease in his bones. Natasha had seemed off in some way. He couldn’t quite place it. Steve rubbed his chin, brushing the hairs of his beard with his fingers, he found the motion oddly comforting. 

“You alright there, Cap?” 

Steve shook his head sharply, as if trying to physically shake his unease away. “Yeah I’m good.”

“You miss them don’t you?” Asked Tony sadly, reading into Steve’s body language and not just the words he was uttering.

Steve sighed realising he was incredibly transparent, “I do but I’m needed here…”

“For once Rogers, just do what you want. Screw duty…” explained Tony animatedly. 

“What about Ross?” Asked Steve curiously. 

“We can cover for you,” replied Tony dismissing Steve’s concerns with a dramatic swipe of his arm. “I mean for a week at least…” He added slightly more meekly at the end. 

“Go see your family Steve,” stated Tony firmly. “Something has clearly bothered you with the wife.”

“She’s not my wife,” stated Steve with a roll of his eyes. 

“Yeah she’s just a woman, you are in love with, that you co-parent with, and pretended to be married to for a half a year,” said Tony with his trademark sass.

“You’ve made your point Tony,” replied Steve with a smile. 

“You can borrow a Stark Jet, as long as your promise not to land this one in the Arctic circle,” said Tony.

“Very funny Tony.”

Peter chose that moment to walk into the room, “Uncle Steve are you going to see Wanda?”

Steve nodded, “yeah it looks that way.”

“Can I come?? It feels like ages since I saw Wanda and Aunty Nat,” asked Peter. 

Tony shook his head, “not this time Pete. They are in the middle of a mission. It’s not a social visit.”

“But Steve is going?” Moaned Peter.

“Steve is also an adult, and a trained soldier,” explained Tony. 

Peter crossed him arms slightly, “Wanda is there and she is my age.”

“And that’s Natasha’s choice. My choice is you are not going,” said Tony firmly. 

“I am Spiderman you know,” replied in annoyance. “I wasn’t too young when it suited you in Berlin.”

Steve coughed awkwardly, unhappy to be in the middle of their domestic. “I’m going to go pack a bag. Thanks again Tony.”  
Peter sighed, “I’m going to go do my homework.”

“Thanks underoo,” smiled Tony warmly. “We can order pizza for dinner, from that place you love in Brooklyn. I promise you will see them soon…”

“Ok Mr Stark,” said Peter sullenly but seemingly in acceptance. 

…………………………………………..

Wanda took a deep breath as she tried to centre herself. She listened to her own heartbeat and tried to focus on what was around her. She heard it faintly, she twisted and threw her right arm out and sent Yelena hurtling through the air. Crashing into the mat that had been pinned up against the wall.

“Ouch…” she moaned gasping heavily as the impact knocked the air out of her. 

“Good job,” said Matt watching over them. Wanda snapped her eyes open and smirked at her aunt who was still wheezing. 

“Don’t….. Get ….Cocky…Little Witch….” Murmered Yelena as she leaned over her hands on her knees as she tried to get her breathing back under control .

“You ok old lady?” Asked Wanda mockingly. 

“Who are you calling old?”replied Yelena who had finally regained her equilibrium. 

“You,” replied Wanda with a smile. Yelena walked over to the teenager and ruffled her hair with her hand, “You are lucky I like you…”

“How could you not? I’m amazing,” said Wanda bumping into Yelena’s side. “You ready to go again?”

Yelena shook her head, “No, Wanda. I need a break.”

Wanda frowned at her, “come on please?”

Yelena glanced back at her niece giving her the puppy dog eyes, “don’t give me that look!”

“Please Aunty Yelena?”

Matt snorted at them, as he watched Yelena melt. “Ok little witch, once more…. That’s it.”

Yelena walked away as Wanda once again sat down closed her eyes and concentrated. Yelena saw the smirk on Matt’s face, “don’t give me that look.”

“You are so whipped!” Whispered Matt playfully. 

“You say no to that face,” snapped back Yelena. Matt laughed out loud. 

“I never thought I would see the day that you gave in to puppy dogs eyes. My harsh little Russian.” joked Matt. “Are you having second thoughts?”

Yelena glared at him, “she is family. The greater good always comes first. You have already made that decision. That is why Elektra is dead.”

Matt’s smile dropped instantly from his face, “you do not say her name to me.”

“Is everything ok?” Shouted Wanda from across the room. 

“Yes Wanda,” replied Yelena quickly. “Just reminding Matt of a few things…” She let her sentence trail off, and stalked away from the glowering man.


	49. Reality Bites

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... a bit short, a bit late... a lot sorry...
> 
> I hope people are still reading and are still interested in this little tale. 
> 
> Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Natasha tossed and turned in the bed, the sweat poured down her face. She gasped for air as she started to thrash around. Wanda leant over and tentatively put a hand out to touch Natasha, “Mama?”

Natasha reacted instinctively throwing her arm towards the attacker, Wanda dodged it in her half asleep state. She backed off the bed and shouted towards the door, “Aunty Yelena! Matt!”

Yelena burst into the room, and quickly surveyed the scene. “Wanda leave now.”

“What’s going on?” Asked a panicked Wanda. “I’m not leaving.”

“Wanda out now,” stated Yelena firmly. 

Wanda crossed her arms in annoyance, “No.”

Yelena narrowed her eyes at the teenager, “this is not the time Wanda. Go to Matt or your uncle.”

Wanda pursed her lips standing off with Yelena, as Natasha thrashed on the bed. She stood there in silence , the only noise the gasping breathy sounds coming from Natasha. 

Yelena shook her head, “Little girl, get out of this room right now. I know how your mama punishes you, don’t think I won’t do the same.”

Wanda blushed at the admonishment, but slumped slightly, “I just want to help…”

“You can help by leaving, Natasha wouldn’t want you to see her like this,” explained Yelena her tone lighter than it was previously. Wanda sighed but left the room, once the door was shut. Yelena jumped into action, she quickly started rummaging through all the drawers in the small room. Frustration marred her face as she couldn’t find what she knew was hidden somewhere. Yelena eventually thrust her hand up to the top of the drawer and then felt the cool metal under her fingertips. She smiled to herself and the fact she knew her sister so well. She wrenched the taped handcuffs of the wooden unit. Yelena grabbed Natasha’s arm firmly attached the cuff and the other end to the bed. The metal had an instant calming effect as Natasha relaxed into her bed. Yelena sighed and stroked her face gently, “You can take the girl out of the red room.” 

“Yelena,” came the whimper.

“Hey Nat, you having a rough night?” 

Natasha turned her head in disorientation, eventually remembering where she was. She bolted upright, “where’s Wanda?” 

“It’s ok Natty, I kicked her out before I…” her eyes moved up indicating to the cuffs. Natasha’s face burned with shame, “I haven’t needed them in a long time…..”

“I know that,” replied Yelena in comfort, “But we all still need it sometime.”

Natasha sighed, as she relaxed back into bed. “I guess all the trips down memory lane may have…” She didn’t finish the sentence there was no need with their shared history. 

“You want some help with that?” Asked Yelena gesturing back towards the cuff. Natasha snorted, “I could get myself out of handcuffs since I was 5.”

Yelena laughed, “yeah, yeah, yeah the great Natasha Romanoff always ahead of everyone else.”

Natasha escaped from the cuff and sat up cross-legged on the bed, “how did you get Wanda to leave willingly? I know my kid she is a stubborn shit.”

“Exactly like her mother,” snapped back Yelena. Natasha smiled weakly at her sister.

“So I may have threatened her…” said Yelena. 

Natasha narrowed her eyes at her sibling, “You threatened my kid??”

“Oh calm down Mama bear. I did what I needed to,” said Yelena.

“Was she scared?”

“I think she more didn’t know what to do,” replied Yelena. “I didn’t think you would want her to see you like that…”

Natasha nodded, “good call.”

“Do you want to talk?” Asked Yelena, only for Natasha to start shaking her head before she finished her sentence.

“Natty…. This is going to bring back some memories. I get that…”

“No, you don’t,” snapped Natasha.

“I was there to you know?” Argued Yelena, “I understand.”

“No you don’t Yelena!” 

“Don’t play the Martyr Natasha. I know you protected me, but even you couldn’t protect me from everything,” said Yelena sadly with no tone of anger or resentment.

“No I protected you,” said Natasha knowingly. “When ?… I?” She swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked into the sad face of her sibling. 

“Natalia, the past is the past. We will be seeing mother and father soon,” Yelena said clearly trying to steer the subject away from the topic at hand. “Anyway your daughter is probably pressed against the door, trying to listen in. These old DDR buildings aren’t the most solid.”

Natasha nodded before speaking up louder than necessary, “My daughter would never be listening in on my room, as she knows she would be punished for spying…”

They both listened intently as they heard the rushed retreating steps, Yelena struggled to contain her snickers. “Come on Natty we need to get her back to bed.”

Yelena headed to collect the teenager. 

“Yelena,” came the voice from the bed. She turned to face her sister, but didn’t say anything.

“Can you stay with us tonight? I think it would make Wanda feel better,” Natasha finished. 

Yelena cocked her eyebrow, “Yeah, Wanda.” She knew better than to challenge the woman, realising how damaging it had to be for Natasha’s pride to ask her that. It would not hurt to allow the obvious lie to continue. 

…………………….

Natasha turned her head to look at the digital alarm clock on the bedside table. It flashed 4:06am. It was mocking her. Yelena and Wanda slept either sider of her, the latter was cuddled into her side her head resting on her chest. She was subconsciously running her fingertips through Wanda’s hair, the sound of her breath exhaling was oddly soothing. 

Natasha had been unable to return to sleep after her night terror, her cheeks reddened at the thought. In her 30’s and still having night terrors like a toddler. The rationale side of her brain knew that the things she endured meant the nightmares were justifiable but she prided herself on her mental and physical strength. Yelena was snoring quietly by her side, her sibling never had as much trouble sleeping as she did. There was distance between them Yelena had never really craved physical intimacy. She was awkward in that way, Natasha wanted to ensure that Wanda never felt that way. Turning back to gaze at the sleeping teenager she was confident that she had broken that cycle with her. It was almost as if Wanda had read her thoughts while she slept as she tightened her hold on Natasha. Snuggling further into her grip, she pressed a kiss into her hair line, and allowed her eyes to close hoping sleep would overcome her.

With her eyes closed, she heard the faint beeping sound. Which caused her to bolt awake, startling the other two occupants in the bed. Natasha grabbed Wanda tightly to her body and threw them both to the floor, screaming at Yelena to get down. The door blew off the small bedroom, shattering and splintering against the wall. Natasha covered Wanda with her body, as the smoke billowed into the room. She heard the sound of bullets firing into the wall, she tightened her grip on her teenager, before bundling her under the bed. 

“Stay down,” whispered Natasha firmly, looking into the scared eyes of Wanda. She went to object but Natasha just narrowed her eyes at the teenager. “Stay under this bed, don’t come out unless it’s family.”

She grabbed her pistol that was taped to the bottom of the bed. Natasha leant down and kissed Wanda’s head. She crawled towards the door, checking back and was relieved to see Yelena had got her gun, and was holding her finger to her lips.

Natasha leant on the door frame, and took a deep breath. Holding her breath she stepped out and fired the pistol immediately taking out the person on her right. The blood splattered against the wall. She ducked down, rolled and shot out the kneecaps of the second assailant who screamed in pain. Yelena followed with an execution shot watching in satisfaction as the body slumped into the wall. She turned and saw Matt crashing his baton in the torso of one assailant. Natasha heard the cock of a gun from the other side of the room, she quickly reacted shooting into the dark corner, and heard the familiar gasp of pain. A body went hurtling towards her crashing into the wall, Natasha turned her head and saw that Bucky had thrown the body. She grabbed the person and pushed him up against the wall wedging her knee against their chest. Natasha ripped off the balaclava showing their face. It was a young male who coughed and spluttered with the pressure against his torso. 

“Who are you?” Questioned Natasha harshly. 

The male shook his head, refusing to answer. Yelena approached him, “we can make you talk, but I think you would rather we didn’t…”

Matt surveyed the room, “Is that all of them?”

Bucky nodded, “yes they are all dead apart from that one.” He gestured towards the gasping male as Natasha pushed her knee into his sternum, making him hold his breath. Natasha wrenched her knee back and he fell forward gasping for air. 

“I don’t think we are getting our security deposit back,” said Matt trying to lighten the situation. 

Yelena grabbed the male from the floor and hand cuffed his arms behind his back and then pushed him back against the wall. 

“I don’t care who you are,” said Yelena. “I only care about who sent you. Who sent you?”

The male shook his head, “They will kill me.”

Yelena laughed, “and you think we won’t.” She gestured animatedly to the dead bodies strewn around them. 

The man swallowed, “Kill me then.”

The blonde cocked an eyebrow at him, “most men want to talk to me.” She stroked his cheek mockingly. 

Matt shook his head, ‘are we really going to do this?”

Yelena snapped her head over to him, “go get a knife from the kitchen.”

Natasha wandered over to the kitchen and grabbed the vodka bottle off the side, she took a slow swig of it. Turning her head away from her sister.

Yelena smirked back at their prisoner, “So who sent you?”

He just shook his head, staring at the floor. 

“How about this question? Hot? cold? Sharp? Or Blunt?”

The man looked up at her in confusion, “What?”

“What do you want to start with? Hot? Or are you more of a blunt kind? Matt turn the stove on,” said Yelena quickly. She was almost happy to see the flash of fear in her prisoner’s eyes. “I almost hope you don’t answer too quickly, so I get to practice all four.”

He looked towards Natasha in shock, “You are an Avenger. You are supposed to be one of the good guys? Are you going to let this crazy bitch torture me.”

Natasha didn’t turn around to face him, but kept staring at the ground she noticed her shoes were wet with blood. 

“Matt heat up that knife. I think I prefer to start hot….”

Matt carried the glowing knife back to Yelena, “so let me ask you again who sent you?”

The man hesitated for a moment, Yelena took that moment to plunge the knife into his leg. He went to scream but Yelena plunged her other hand into his mouth muffling the sound. 

Bucky walked over to Natasha, “we need to leave soon, the police will be on their way someone would have called the police.”

Natasha shook her head, “Nah, this area. No-one will call, and if anyone did hear, they would all assume someone else would have called the police. Diffusion of responsibility sometimes helps us.” 

“Mama… What’s going on?”asked a quiet voice from the doorway. “Aunty…”

Natasha turned her head sharply, “Wanda go back into the room.”

Wanda surveyed the room in shock, “did you Kill…”

“Wanda back in the room now!” Snapped Natasha. Yelena let go of the man, who dropped to the floor hyperventilating. 

“You see your family now,” he spat. 

‘So now you want to talk,’ snarked Yelena. 

Wanda stood frozen in the doorway, the blood stains on the wall, on the floor made her feel nauseous. Her eyes stopped when she saw Yelena her eyes drawn to the bloodied knife in her hand. 

The next thing she noticed was Natasha’s grip on her arm as she was pushed back into the room, “I told you to go back into the room.”

Wanda slowly flopped onto the bed, “you need to do as you are told.”

Wanda looked up at Natasha, “What’s going on?”

“We were attacked,” explained Natasha simply.

“Did you kill anyone?”

Natasha wanted to look away but knew better than to lie to her daughter, “yes I did.”

“And Aunty Yelena is now torturing someone…”

“Aunty Yelena is just asking him some questions…” Natasha replied weakly, though even she knew how pathetic that sounded. 

“You were torturing him…”

“We need to know who attacked us, and if more are coming Wanda,” stated Natasha firmly. 

“Are you forgetting my powers?” Shouted Wanda. “Or is it just that you would rather hurt people.”

Cold ice ran through Natasha’s veins at that point. Wanda was right it had not even entered her mind.

“I don’t want you to see things you shouldn’t be seeing,” replied Natasha.

“What like dead bodies? Or torture like what’s going on in our living room right now?” Said Wanda with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“Watch your tone,” said Natasha, “I’m still upset you didn’t stay In here.”

“The bullets stopped! You didn’t come and get me. I didn’t know if you were alive,” yelled Wanda. 

“Calm down,” said Natasha strictly.

“No, don’t treat me like a child. Not while I have blood on my socks and dead people in our flat,” said Wanda. 

Natasha took a deep breath and massaged her temple. “Wanda please go to bed.”

“No, what information do you need? I can get it from him,” explained Wanda again. 

Natasha shook her head, “I don’t want you doing that.”

“It makes sense,” stated Wanda. “Stop trying to protect me Mama.”

Natasha allowed a smile to grace her face, “I will always protect you.”

Wanda grabbed Natasha’s arms firmly but not tightly, “I can do this.”

Natasha looked into Wanda’s eyes, for the first time really noticing how much she had grown in the last year. Natasha realised that Wanda was going to be taller than her by the time she was 18. 

Natasha exhaled heavily, “Ok.”

Wanda walked into the room with determination, realising she probably didn’t look that threatening in her sleepwear. The man was gasping on the floor, as Yelena twirled the blade expertly between her fingers in her left hand before tossing it and repeating the pattern in her right. 

Wanda lifted her hands up and watched as the red tendrils moved like smoke wisps towards the male. They encircled him and lifted him slightly off the ground. Natasha watched warily as Wanda’s eyes lit up red her whole body glowing. 

Wanda skimmed through his mind, trying to sift through the random images coming at her at all sides. She tried to remember some of her training as she tried to focus and centre herself on one memory. Wanda watched as it played out in front of her. The man dropped unconscious on the floor and Wanda swayed slightly on her feet as she tried to steady herself. Natasha stepped forward and caught her before she fell, pulling her into her body. Natasha waited patiently for her to steady herself. 

Wanda turned her head towards Matt and Yelena, “who are the hand?”

Yelena reacted quickly, she pulled the unconscious man up and slit his throat in one motion. Dropping his lifeless body back to the floor, which flopped against the wall bouncing slightly when it hit the ground. Wanda screamed in shock backing further into Natasha. 

“We leave now.”


End file.
